From Russia With Love
by JulieM
Summary: Harm, Mac, Bud and Harriet go undercover in Russia to crack a black market adoption ring. COMPLETE!
1. Chapter 1

Title: From Russia With Love. By Jules

Summary: Harm, Mac, Bud and Harriet go undercover in Russia to crack a black market adoption ring.

_Disclaimer: I don't own JAG or any of it's characters, but just borrow them for a while to exercise my overactive imagination! JAG belongs to DPB and TPTB at CBS._

Spoilers: None. This piece is set post 'Shifting Sands'

Rating: T/PG.

Category:H/M shipper.

OOOO

Part One

The middle-age couple standing beside their car at the roadside looked nothing like the US Navy personnel that they were. Commanders Jane and Robert Sykes stood rigid, as if at attention as they looked down the road for any sign of an oncoming vehicle. They had been doing this for the past hour, flinching at the first sight of a van or car, then slumping dejectedly as it passed them by and continued on it's way. They were slowly giving up hope; hope of ever seeing their contact again and of getting back the money that they had handed over. Five hundred thousand US dollars. They had spent nearly half that amount over the last ten years, on fertility treatments, on IVF, on surrogacy, all to no avail. Maybe the burden would be a little easier to bear, if they knew the reason why life seemed to be passing them by. They had watched as all of their friends and families had gotten married and had kids of their own. They had even watched some of their friends from their counselling sessions go on to successfully have their own children. But still, they seemed to be stuck in this rut, able to go neither forwards nor backwards. Countless consultations with specialists later, they were still childless and with no reason. Were they just not meant to have children, was it some fault which they had brought upon themselves? Because of their high-risk jobs, the long vetting system and even longer waiting list, adoption in the US was out of the question, as was fostering. They had gone through two lots of unsuccessful surrogacy. If this didn't work, they didn't know what they would do. This was their last chance.

At that minute, an SUV materialised far down the road. It registered in Jane's mind as vaguely familiar, though she couldn't say for sure that this was the vehicle that their contact drove. Both officers held their breath, as the SUV got closer. The blackened out windows seemed to be a positive sign, Robert thought to himself, it seemed to fit in with the secrecy that had surrounded this operation from the beginning. However, to their great disappointment, the SUV carried on past them, not even slowing down and giving any other sign that it would stop in the near future. Jane's head dropped and Robert pulled his wife to him. They both knew what this meant. Their money was now gone and they still had no child to show for it. It was time to give up and go back home to the US. They stood where they were for a couple of minutes, trying to come to terms with what they were feeling.

"Do you think it's us, Robert?" Jane spoke up, quietly.

"Hey," Robert reprimanded her, softly, "What did I tell you? It's not us. We've done nothing to deserve this…you would be the best Mother in the world. We're going to get there, someday. We're just having a harder time than most people. But it is not our fault."

Jane nodded, trying to make herself believe these words. This had carried on for so long, she'd had these doubts in her mind for such a long time that it was hard making herself even think that she deserved to be a Mother. Even Robert had a hard time believing what he was saying, sometimes.

Just then, Robert's eyes shot from his wife's face to the road again. Jane went to turn and look where his eyes were focussed, but he held her shoulders firmly, stopping her with a whispered directive.

"No, don't look. We might put them off."

Robert's eyes had caught sight of the same SUV with blackened out windows, making it's way back down the opposite side of the road. It carried on in the direction it was going, speeding up suddenly.

"I think that's them," he told his wife, quietly, barely daring to believe it.

They stood where they were for a minute, waiting for the SUV to turn around and come back along their side of the road. For both, it was the longest five minutes of their life. But, sure enough, the SUV appeared again and pulled into the lay-by behind them. A man in wrap around sunglasses got out of the front passenger seat and made his way to them.

"Seems like the two of you are having some 'car trouble'," he commented to them, "We'll take a look at your car and see if we can't have you on your way, soon."

It was the interpreter who had been roped into corresponding with them, the middleman between the two sides.

"We'd appreciate that," Robert Sykes told the man, all the while watching as another man got out of the car, this time from the driver's seat. This man, whom the Sykes's knew spoke only Russian, came over to their car and popped the hood, taking a look at the engine. After a couple of minutes he the beckoned the interpreter and the couple over to him, in front of the car. Here, the two men started up a fast dialogue in Russian. The Sykes simply stood quietly, unsure of what was going on. They froze as the left back-passenger door on the SUV opened and another man stepped out. The Sykes knew this man as the ringleader of the organisation. It was he, a doctor, whom they had first approached, he who had blindfolded them both and taken them to the orphanage and he to whom they had handed the money over. He stood by the door for a second, gesturing to someone in the car. Jane and Robert then caught sight of a small pair of feet, clothed in small black shoes and white sport socks. The Russian ringleader took hold of the child's skinny arm and pulled him along beside him. Walking out from behind the door, Jane and Robert caught sight of the little boy, whom they had first met the previous week. Dimitri, or Dima as he was affectionately known, was small and skinny, yet still quite muscular in the upper body for a boy his age. These were telltale signs of the hothouse training in which he had been enrolled, despite the fact that he was only four years old. Most of his days, after kindergarten, were spent in the cramped little gymnasium, performing over and over again, training until his muscles ached and his hands bled. After seeing him perform his gruelling regime of daily training, Jane had promised herself that all this would change, once they got him home. He would play outside in the fresh air, swim in the pool with Robert and eat MacDonald's until his little heart was content.

"As we agreed," the interpreter told them, nodding his head discreetly towards the little boy, "Now, the final payment for all of this assistance."

Robert took the wad of American dollars, five thousand of them, out of his pocket, slipping it to the man looking under the hood of his car. Only then did the ringleader belt Dima into the left-back passenger seat of the Sykes's car and close the door.

"It has been a pleasure doing business with you," the interpreter told them, but sounding as though he had not particularly enjoyed the meeting all that much. When Robert thought about it, he figured all the men were interested in was gaining money, not in seeing a child happily homed. Once the men got back into their SUV, pulled out of the lay-by and back onto the road, Robert and Jane pulled the hood of their car down again and walked round to get back into their car. At this time of year, the weather was not all that warm and both were shivering slightly, though neither of them had actually realised until that moment. Perhaps the cold had combined with their nerves over this event. Robert climbed back behind the wheel of the car, while Jane got into the back seat behind him, to sit with Dima, their new son.

The little boy looked contented over the duration of their journey back to Moscow, leaning into Jane's embrace and snuggling under her arm. Finally, the Sykes's were at the place they had wanted to be, for more than ten years now. Finally, they were a Mom and Dad.

OOOO

1300 Zulu,

Falls Church,

Virginia.

Harm and Mac were returning from a court session, when they were approached by PO Tiner.

"Ma'am, Sir, the Admiral would like to see you both in his office," he told them both.

"Alright, Tiner. We'll just be a minute," Harm told the PO.

Harm and Mac quickly went to their respective offices and stored away their belongings. They met up again in the bullpen, before making their way to the Admiral's outer office.

"He's expecting you," Tiner instructed them both, "Go straight in."

Harm gave a little knock on the door before he opened it, letting Mac in first before he entered, himself.

As they walked into the room, the Admiral fell silent, interrupted in what he was saying.

"Reporting as ordered, Admiral, sir," Harm announced, he and Mac quickly coming to attention. Mac tried and failed to ignore the fact that both of the Roberts Lieutenants were already in the room. Her interest was now piqued.

"Colonel, Commander," Admiral AJ Chegwidden acknowledged, instructing, "At ease. Please take a seat."

Once Harm and Mac had taken a seat beside Bud and Harriet, the Admiral proceeded with what he had been saying.

"Now, as I have just been explaining to the Lieutenants Roberts, what I'm about to brief you on is top-secret, government information. Any leak of this information could result in a lost opportunity of monumental proportions."

All four officers nodded in understanding. AJ knew that he could trust all of these officers, 100, but was bound by the rules of protocol to set the warning out, none-the-less.

"Now, what I'm about to ask of you four is by no means an easy thing. This will be gruelling and demanding, in both a personal and professional way. If, at any time, you feel that you cannot accept the case I am about to give you, then you need only say. I would never blame you for it, nor hold it against you…"

All four officers braced themselves for what they were about to hear, knowing that it would be far from good.

"I have been asked for my cooperation in this matter by Clayton Webb, on behalf of the CIA. This especially involves individuals within the US military, so he thought military personnel might work better within the operation."

Both Harm and Mac had flinched slightly at the mention of Clay's name, both remembering the last time they had been involved in an operation of his. Their apprehension was not allayed by what the Admiral said next.

"He has asked that the four of you take part in an undercover operation that he is planning to conduct in Russia."

"Undercover; this definitely won't be good," Harm thought to himself.

The last time, it had nearly cost Webb, Harm, Mac and Gunny their lives. Webb was only just back to work, after being tortured within an inch of his life. Harm and Mac had showed the cuts and scrapes of their plane crash for quite a long time, from when they had tried to get out of the range of danger. Even Gunny had a hard time during the mission. What on earth had Webb cooked up now?

The Admiral continued on with what he was saying.

"Now, I must tell you that Webb selected the four of you for specific reasons. Colonel, your fluency in Russian is what earned you your place. Harm, seeing as you seem to do so well in these types of situations, your "ability to remain bullet-proof", to put it in Webb's terms of phrase, you have been selected. Lieutenants Roberts, I for one disapprove of the reason Clay chose you to take part in this case. Let me tell you now, I will back you fully if you decide not to take this case. It is something for the two of you to decide together…"

"Um, why exactly did Webb choose us to participate, Sir?" Bud requested, hesitantly.

"Perhaps it would be better for me to explain that by outlining the case, Lieutenant," the Admiral continued, passing Mac the case file, "In that file are the preliminary papers on Commanders Jane and Robert Sykes. They were taken into custody a week ago, re-entering the States in possession of a child whom they had not left with. Jane Sykes was in possession of a forged passport on which the child was travelling. No information on exactly where the child, a four-year-old little boy, Dimitri, comes from has been gained. Both Commanders refuse to account for their whereabouts during their three-week trip to Russia. It is only known that they flew into Moscow at the beginning of the trip then flew out with the newly acquired child three weeks later. Both Commanders refuse to give the full name of the child or any official documents. Where the child came from is only conjecture, at this point. However, what has been assumed is that the child was adopted illegally through a black market enterprise. Such organisations have long run rampant in Russia, without the government being successful in curbing them. They say that the country is just far too large to control everything. CIA agents are now trying to cut a deal with the Commanders to disclose information, which could put a stop to this illegal organisation. However, until an actual transaction is made, we have no proof of what is going on, who is involved and what scale it is being operated on. Webb wants the four of you to take part by going undercover as two childless couples, looking to adopt quickly and off the record."

"So, sir, agent Webb wants Bud and I to take part, because we lost a child and know what it's like to want a child so badly?" Harriet spoke up, suddenly.

"I know that it's far too much to ask of you, Harriet," AJ continued on a more personal level, "I'd never force you to take part. This is totally yours and Bud's decision, I will respect whatever you two tell me."

Harriet and Bud just looked at each other for a second, their faces unsure.

"I'm going to give you as long as you need," AJ told them, "The four of you have no obligation whatsoever to take part in Webb's operation and I'll back you full-heartedly."

AJ had increased in his displeasure of Webb's little schemes, ever since the whole Paraguay incident. If his people decided that this was not the mission for them, he'd support them all the way, even if it meant going against the orders of the SECNAV himself.

With that part of the briefing finished, AJ dismissed his officers for the day, so they could go home to make their decisions.

All four decided that it would be a decision best made as a group, so organised to get together for dinner, later that night, at Bud and Harriet's place.

OOOO

Bud answered the door at seven thirty that night.

"Hi, Ma'am, Sir. Come on in," he greeted Harm and Mac.

"Bud," Mac told him, "How many times have we had this conversation? If we're not in the office, call us Harm and Mac."

Harm just laughed, Bud would never change.

As they walked into the living room, they caught sight of Harriet. She had just put little AJ to bed and was now about to feed her youngest child, baby Jimmy.

"Mac, Harm," she greeted them, "please take a seat. Take-away should arrive any time now."

Mac left Harm's side and went to fuss over the new baby, while Harm contented to sit by Bud and start up a quiet discussion. Just as Harriet was finished feeding and burping baby Jimmy, the doorbell rang and Bud went to collect and pay for the Chinese takeaway that they had ordered earlier. Oncethe babywas put to bed, the dishes and cutlery were taken out and the food dished up. It wasn't until everyone was finished with their meal that discussion about work commenced, around the large dining room table.

"Bud, Harriet," Mac started, "Harm and I understand just how hard this decision is for the two of you. We just want you to know that we will support whatever choice you make."

Bud spoke up in reply.

"Actually, Ma'am, Harriet and I have been talking today and we've both found that there is little difficulty in making our decision. Things were so hard, still are so hard, after baby Sarah, despite the great support that you and the Commander, as well as everyone else at JAG, have given us. We know, first-hand, what it is like to want a child, whether it is your own or one you have never seen before. Clayton Webb is right in thinking that knowledge like that could help the case along…"

Bud looked over a Harriet, confirming that she still felt the same way, before he rendered their decision to Harm and Mac.

"Despite all of the bad memories that it will dredge up, we've decided that we could really bring something to this investigation. We want to make sure that children are placed in approved, suitable homes, not just in those of the people who can afford the price tag. Harriet and I want to take part in Webb's investigation."

"Are you guys sure about this?" Harm checked, assuring them, "There's absolutely no shame in turning something as traumatic as this down."

Bud and Harriet nodded emphatically. They had reached a decision and now, so had Harm and Mac.

All four of them would be going to Russia.

All that passed over the next three weeks swept them up like a whirlwind. They were taken to CIA headquarters and briefed extensively. They were given new identities; each pair told that they were now a married couple, who had gone exhaustively through various methods of fertility treatment and adoption back in the US, without success. In desperation, they had now decided to look abroad for the answer to their childless plight. Last of all, they had an opportunity to talk with the Sykes couple themselves. After hours of exhausting reasoning, they were no further along with ascertaining just what the couple had got up to, during their holiday in Russia. Finally, Bud stepped in, to reason with them one more time.

"Don't the two of you understand? What you two did was clearly illegal. No country would clear an application for adoption in only three weeks. There are not even any official records of you applying to adopt the little boy. Sure, he may have ended up in a good, loving home; you may be the greatest parents in the world. But what about the other children who are shifted out of Russia? Do you think that they're all going to a home approved to raise children in? Do you really think that it is the parenting skills that are examined when such an 'adoption' is being considered? Of course it isn't. All that is required is cash and lots of it. So many people in this country are in positions like yourself. But most of those people don't have the money to afford to buy a child, like the two of you did."

"And I suppose you know what it is like to be without a child, do you, Lieutenant?" Robert Sykes spat back at him.

"I know what it is like to lose a child," Bud told him, honestly, glancing at Harriet, "A child that we anticipated and looked forward to getting to know for eight months."

Robert Sykes bowed his head slightly and mumbled an apology.

"But what hurts so much about all of this is that every week, a group of these Russian orphans is being placed in homes, simply because of money. Those could be homes totally unsuitable, homes without a single ounce of love. There are people who only want children for the status symbol that they provide. Do you think that is fair, Commander?"  
Robert and his wife slowly shook their heads, reluctantly.

"Then you need to tell us what you know, so that we can stop the people responsible."

With only minor hesitation, Robert finally spoke up and related his story.

OOOO


	2. Chapter 2

OOOO

Part Two

Three weeks later, Harm, Mac, Bud and Harriet were on a plane, on their way to Moscow. Harm and Mac were posing as Garry and Christine Anderson, who were thirty-seven and thirty-three, respectively, while Bud and Harriet were Michael and Gemma Whitman, who were both thirty-one. Both couples had gone through treatment for infertility, artificial insemination and application for adoption in the States, without success. Both couples had been given the term, unexplained or 'idiopathic' infertility. They were now going to Russia, their last hopes of having a child pinned on this journey.

Despite his early difficulties, Bud had now mastered the art of calling Harm and Mac by their cover names and not as ma'am and sir, Harm or Mac.

Harriet, although jittery at first, was now adjusting well to leaving her children in the care of her Mother and Father, despite the fact that this was the first time she had been away from baby Jimmy.

For their part, Harm and Mac were actually enjoying the opportunity to act as husband and wife, although neither would have admitted it, not even to themselves.

By the time that they got to Moscow and checked into their hotel suites, both couples were exhausted and collapsed on the double bed for a few hours of sleep before Webb would come to brief them on what they would do next. Harm and Mac woke a couple of hours later, by the soft knock on the door. Mac woke herself up fully, while Harm went to answer the door. He came back through to the bedroom of the suite a few minutes later.

"That's just Mike and Gemma," he told Mac.

From then on, they had agreed to stick to their cover names. As well as being good for giving them all practice and keeping them in the right frame of mind, none of them had any idea about how secure the hotel suites were. Harm and Mac were all too aware that, despite the high price of the up-market hotel, the walls no doubt still had ears. Their fears were put to rest, a few minutes later, when Clayton Webb arrived with a forensic team, who searched the suites thoroughly. Once he was satisfied that the rooms were secure, he finally started his final brief. This was very extensive and intensive, as he explained, "This is the only time that I'm going to be able to meet with you four. We can't risk leaving any information with you in case any of our bad-guys get hold of it. All of this must be discussed and committed to memory, tonight."

It would be many hours later before they would be able to get any rest.

They started by going through the itinerary for the next day.

"Bud, Harriet, you both have the first appointment at the clinic, at three o'clock. Harm, Mac, your appointment is at four-fifteen. You're both booked into to see doctor Zebrovnik, the same doctor that the Sykes's saw. According to them, he's the one who is the adoption ringleader. We don't think that you'll have to wait too long for them to get back to you, maybe a couple of days. If you both just go through all of the information that you've been given in your brief, all of the treatment that you've been through in the past and all that. What you want to focus on most of all is the fact that you've been turned down for adoption in the US. Harm, Mac, this is due to age considerations, Bud, Harriet, because of the nature of your work in the military. Harm, Mac, I want you to stress the fact that you're running out of time to bring up children. Let him know, in no uncertain terms that you're looking for as quick an adoption as possible, with a minimum of red tape and paper work processing. Now, after your consultations tomorrow, I want you pairs to have as little interaction as possible. They may get suspicious if they see you together, interacting, when you're both coming to them to get involved in all of this shady activity."

"What about when they finally take us into this ring?" Harm spoke up.

"Yes," Clay noted, "We don't think that they will wait all that long before they come to transport you to where the children are living. The Sykes's told us that they were put into a dark coloured SUV, with black tinted windows and were blindfolded, before taken to the orphanage. They had no idea where they were going, couldn't even tell what direction the place was in, in relation to Moscow. They did note that the journey took about two to two-and-a-half hours, but the destination of the car could have been any multitude of places."

Mac knew that an orphanage wasn't a rare thing in that part of Russia, especially around Moscow.

"And when we get to the orphanage? What happens then?" Mac questioned.

"They'll probably take you around the compound, to take a look at the children."

"Are there any guidelines that we should be following, when we're deciding on a child?" Harm clarified, "There was no mention of it in the brief. Are we supposed to go for a boy or a girl? What sort of age are we going for?"

"That is completely up to you; you can decide on the gender of the child. However, when we're considering the age of the child, it would be more helpful to us if you chose an older child. A baby wouldn't be able to give any information about what goes on inside the orphanage. We want to get a time-scale and frequency on just how this has been happening. I'd say any child above the age of three would be most helpful to us, because they are pretty articulate from that age onwards. Other than that, the decision will be up to you. You could agree upon a set of guidelines beforehand, or you can just wait until you get there. But guys, I'd advise that although you are acting as if you're becoming parents for the first time, don't get personally involved. This is a terrible thing and it's all too easy for you to get swallowed up in it. Act like the new Mommy and Daddy, but don't invest your heart in it. It's liable to get broken in a situation like this."

They went on like this for hours, clearing up any detail that was left unresolved. Not only did they have to be able to do all of this, they had to do it without hesitation. By the time that they were finished, they knew their new personas back to front and inside out.

OOOO

Once their briefing had finished, Harm, Bud, Mac and Harriet went downstairs to get dinner in the hotel restaurant. After an uneventful dinner, they all retired for the night.

OOOO

As Bud and Harriet were curled up in bed later, they began to discuss exactly what they were getting themselves into.

"Do you think we're going to be able to remain objective about this?" Harriet asked her husband.

"It's not going to be an easy thing," he pointed out, "We never thought it would be. But at least we know that these children aren't going to be put into a home that isn't good enough for them. We'll be making sure that they end up in good homes, homes where they're going to get everything a child needs."

"If they end up in a home at all," Harriet pointed out, "Some of the children might end up spending the rest of their childhood in the orphanage. What if we're taking away the chance of a happy childhood, with the parents that the children had given up on having?"

"It's all a matter of a greater good," Bud pointed out, but still understanding what Harriet was worrying about, "Sure, maybe we might be obstructing a couple of children going into good homes, by illegal means. But we'll never know how many of the children staying at the orphanage we've saved from an unhappy, even uncertain future."

They went to sleep, both still going over the moral arguments in their heads.

OOOO

Harm and Mac stayed up in the living room of their suite later that night, watching late night TV. Neither of them thought that they'd be able to sleep, even though they were feeling the effects of the time difference between Moscow and D.C.

This mission had unsettled them both more than they were willing to admit out-loud. Both of their minds were fixed on the discussion, nearly five years beforehand. Their baby deal. The issue hung on the silent air between them for a minute, before anything was said. Then, after a minute, Harm looked over to Mac and joked, "So what do you say? Should he have your looks and my brains or should she have my looks and your brains?"

Mac just smiled and commented, "I don't know how anything is going to fold out, once we get to the orphanage… I think we'll have a better idea when we actually see the children."

After a long pause on Mac's part, Harm began to worry.

"What is it, Mac?" He asked, concerned.

"I…this is just going to be so difficult. These aren't faraway stories or characters in a plot line that we're talking about. These are real children, children who think that we're going to become their new Mommy and Daddy after a few weeks. How do we go through all of this, knowing that we're gong to turn our back on them when this is all over with?"

"Yeah, I know, Mac," Harm sympathised, "But think about what we could be saving them from. This way, they'll have a better chance of going to a proper home, one that's going to provide them with everything they need. Like Clay said, we can't think into it too much. It'll just get in the way of us doing our job. As hard as it's going to be, we're going to have to check our feelings at the door."

Mac nodded, knowing that this was what her job required. However, she knew that she'd have a hard time forcing her feelings down. Her feelings on her own motherhood were ones that had been growing increasingly strong over the past year or so. Would she still be able to separate her work and personal life any more?

OOOO

It was not long past three o'clock, that morning when Mac jolted asleep from a vivid dream. In her head, she still heard the crying and forgetting where she was; she quickly sat up in bed, thinking, "The baby…"

"I'll go," she spoke aloud, directed to Harm, who was curled up on the other side of the bed, still asleep, "Just stay where you are, I'll get her back to sleep."

Mac had only taken a step away from the bed when reality seemingly slapped her hard in the face and she stood in disbelief, looking at the room around her.

"Huh?" she thought to herself, "What am I doing? We're in Russia…that was all a dream…just a dream."

Shaking her head in disbelief, Mac got back into bed. This case must be affecting her more than she was willing to admit.

OOOO

The next morning, Harm, Mac, Bud and Harriet had breakfast together, making the most of the last day they would be able to do this. After their consultation at the clinic today, they would have to avoid each other, so as not to arouse the suspicions of the people who were involved in the adoption ring. Harm and Mac knew from their last trip to Russia together that information had an uncanny way of spreading around quickly.

At three o'clock Bud and Harriet left for their consultation, at the clinic across town.

Once they were done, they spent the afternoon shopping, to take their minds off the situation.

Harm and Mac arrived at the clinic for their consultation at ten to four. Mac couldn't help shifting around nervously in the chair she had taken while they waited for their appointment. Harm looked over from his seat next to her and smiled reassuringly, taking her hand in her and giving it a supportive squeeze.

"Boy," Mac thought to herself, "I could just get used to all of this support and comfort!"

She didn't realise that Harm was thinking the same thing.

After another twelve minutes, a nurse told them that Dr. Zebrovnik was waiting for them in office no. three.

Harm and Mac were surprised to find that Dr. Zebrovnik was a small, mild-looking man, with a wispy grey beard and fluttering eyelids.

"Colonel and Mrs. Anderson?" he asked them, inviting them to take seats at the desk in front of him.

"Please, just call us Garry and Chris," Harm told him.

After going through their treatment history, contained in a medical file that Harm had brought with them, Dr. Zebrovnik concluded, "So adoption is the only avenue that is now open to you?"

Harm and Mac nodded gravely.

"Can I ask, if I may, why you have come to Russia to take such steps? Why not simply try back in the States?"

"I'm above the age that they accept for adopting children," Harm told him, "Chris and I have tried that option, but combined with our highly demanding jobs, they feel that we aren't suitable. Chris and I feel very differently, however. We've got plenty of love to offer a child and no parent has a guarantee about how long they're going to have with their child. It wouldn't even be an issue, if we were able to have our own children. There are plenty of teenage parents, single parents who manage to raise their children well, so that they become great people. I don't see why we shouldn't be given the same chance, too. As we were sitting around, waiting for all of the paperwork to be processed and decisions to be made, we were losing so much valuable time. Time is not on our side, unfortunately. "

"Yes, yes of course," Dr. Zebrovnik nodded in sympathy, "I, better than anyone, understand what you are saying. We have so many children in Russia who are born into poverty or other circumstances which necessitate their removal from their natural home. It is my life's mission to make sure that these children grow up in a loving home. To me you seem like a wonderful couple. However, before we're able to proceed any further, it is necessary that we make a few background checks. Believe me, I know how long the two of you have been waiting for a child who you can call your own and I'm sorry to send you away to wait some more…"

"We understand, Doctor," Mac told him, "Although we have been so tremendously excited during our journey, we understand that this is all in the child's best interests. We care just as much about any child whom we may get a chance to adopt."

Dr. Zebrovnik smiled, pleased. To him, these people seemed like intensely good people.

He pictured making a call to his new 'business partner', tonight, to get arrangements made for a little visit, later in the week. Two families in one day, things looked to be working out very well.

OOOO

It was only two days later when the call came through to the hotel suite in which Harm and Mac were staying.

"Hello?" Harm answered the phone, "Garry Anderson speaking…Yes, Dr. Zebrovnik, hello. We didn't expect to be hearing from you so soon…Tomorrow? Just to go through a couple of things? Sure, eight-fifteen would be fine. Yes, we'll see you then."

Mac emerged from the bathroom in a crisp white hotel robe. Her hair was still wet from the shower she had just emerged from. Harm stared at her dumbfounded, for a second.

"Was that Dr. Zebrovnik?" she asked.

Harm snapped to and blurted, "Huh? Oh, yeah! He just wanted to arrange another meeting for tomorrow. Seems there are a couple of things he just wants to clear up with us, before he tells us about the options that we have ahead of us…"

"Do you think things will start rolling, tomorrow?"

"Yeah…it seemed strange that he'd be calling us at this time of night. And such a sudden appointment…"

"A personal call, too," Mac added, "Funny how he didn't leave it to his secretary."

"Yeah, I was thinking that myself," Harm nodded, "I suspect that Dr. Zebrovnik is going to give us the option of speeding our adoption along, by omitting some vital paperwork."

"I wonder if Mike and Gemma got that call, too," Mac wondered aloud.

Bud and Harriet had gotten back to their room, half-an-hour earlier, after a trip out to Red Square when their call came. Their appointment was scheduled for a little before Harm and Mac's. They were having similar inklings to those of Harm and Mac. They decided to spend the night in, going over what they were going to do the next day.

Harm and Mac went across town to a Romany restaurant. They settled their nerves with good food and sparkling grape juice, preparing for the day that lay ahead of them, the next morning.

They toasted to meal, "to baby Anderson."

Both were thinking how they would like to be making that "to baby MacKenzie-Rabb."

OOOO

The next morning went much as they had expected. Harm and Mac arrived at the clinic about ten minutes before Bud and Harriet went into Doctor Zebrovnik's office. Because they didn't want to clue anyone in the clinic into the fact that they knew each other, they sat at opposite ends of the waiting room, both quietly talking in pairs. When Bud and Harriet went into the office, a few minutes later, Harm and Mac couldn't resist talking about what could be going on inside.

"Do you think Harriet's going to be okay?" Mac asked Harm, worriedly.

"Bud's going to make sure she is," Harm assured her, "Don't worry about it. I'm sure Harriet will be able to cope. She and Bud are incredibly strong, especially together."

"You'd have to be, to come through what they have. I don't think I could ever be as strong as they've been," Mac added

"You're a lot stronger than you give yourself credit for," Harm, looking straight on at her, "You're an amazing person."

Mac just smiled and took Harm's hand in her own.

After a minute, the door to Dr. Zebrovnik's office opened and Bud and Harriet walked out. Behind his back, as they left through the door to their right, Bud gave Harm and Mac a discrete thumbs up.

When Harm and Mac got into the office, Dr. Zebrovnik seemed somehow altered from how he had been at the previous consultation. He seemed more efficient, seemed to skip around the subject less. After a few minutes, he ploughed ahead with his true intentions.

"Mr and Mrs. Anderson. I've no doubt you will probably find what I have to say next surprising, but I truly understand just how much you are both running against time in you bid to become parents. What I have in mind for you would cut out an extraordinary amount of time."

"It is possible to do that?" Harm spoke up, then encouraged, "Christine and I would be so pleased if that were the case, we really are eager to get all of this underway."

"Yes, yes, indeed," the doctor enthused, "What I propose would be, of course, less than orthodox, at least in official channels. But the plight of the Russian orphans is an urgent one and my sole concern is that as many get placed in stable homes, as quickly as possible. This country's government go on about how official procedure needs to be followed, procedure that will take an extensive amount of time. At the same time, they are content to sit around and watch the children, the future of this nation, starve and live in squalor. I see no reason why desperate couples like yourselves and these poor, lonely children cannot realise your dreams together, sooner than has ever been thought possible."

"Dr. Zebrovnik, thank you!" Mac grabbed the man's hands in her own, putting some tears in for effect, "We never expected to find our saviour, our guardian angel when we came here to Moscow. Thank you so much for making our dream come true!"

She and Harm played the part of the ecstatic couple for a few minutes.

Both looked at each other and shot a meaningful glance.

Bingo!

They were into the ring.

OOOO

Dr. Zebrovnik sent them on their way that day, with instructions to go to the car park of a nearby shopping mall. There, he told them, they would meet another couple like themselves and the people who would be taking them to a nearby orphanage. This orphanage, he explained, was one of the biggest in most of Russia; their best chance of finding the child for them would lie inside this orphanage.

As they were walking to the meeting point, Harm and Mac went over the morning's events in their heads. This was unbelievable! They hadn't been in the country for even five days, yet here they were, about to infiltrate an illegal adoption ring. They both supposed that Bud and Harriet would be the other couple waiting for the meeting in the car park, they had both left as speedily as they had had to do. They both caught sight of the parking lot from across the street. It was large and virtually deserted, the ideal meeting place for rackets of illegal activity. The few cars that were there seemed to be parked for the day, evidenced by the parking stubs displayed on their dashboards. Harm and Mac slowed down as they caught sight of a dark-grey SUV, with black tinted windows. Standing on the other side were two men, talking to Bud and Harriet. The men turned as they heard Harm and Mac approach.

OOOO


	3. Chapter 3

OOOO

Part three

"I suppose you are the Andersons?" one man asked, in heavily accented English, "You will be here for the 'tour' then?"

"Yes," Harm nodded, "That's right. I'm Garry and this is my wife, Christine."

"Yes, well I'll give you both some time to get to know the other couple who will be coming with us on our 'tour', then we'll be getting on our way."

The man then crossed the street, heading towards a gas station.

Bud jumped forward and introduced him and his wife to Harm and Mac.

"HI, I'm Mike and this is my wife, Gemma. We've noticed you guys around…I think we may be in the same hotel as you."

"The Sheraton?" Harm asked, then shook his head in astonishment as Bud replied in the affirmative, "Wow, what a small world."

Once their guide had got back from the gas station with his pack of cigarettes, they were instructed to get into the SUV. The driver started up the engine, but the guide spoke up before they went to pull out of the lot.

"Now, I'm afraid that I'm going to have to put these on you," he told them, holding up a set of blindfolds, "I'm sure you can appreciate the sensitive nature of this whole situation. In order to protect my boss and myself, it is necessary that you have no idea where we are going."

After hesitantly donning the blindfolds, the group felt the SUV pull out of the parking lot and take a left. Mac tried to follow their route in her mind. They were now heading west, into downtown Moscow. They seemed to take another left, drive straight for another five minutes, and then take two more lefts.

"They must be going back the way we came," Mac thought to herself.

Her thoughts were confirmed over the next twenty minutes when the SUV took more unusual twists and turns. Mac had well and truly lost her bearings when they seemed to speed up and settle at one speed. They must now be on an interstate route. Mac counted over the minutes in her head. Where were they going? Would they really be taken to the orphanage, or just out into the wilds somewhere and robbed…or worse?

She must have been giving out vibes, because she felt Harm reach out to her and take her hand. Unconsciously, she leaned closer to him, seeking some of his assurance.

These plans of Webb's! Were they totally mad to trust anything that they had been told?

Their fears were allayed, about and hour later, when the car came to a stop.

"Alright everybody," the guide instructed them, "I thank you very much for observing my requests. You may remove your blindfolds now."

Harm, Mac, Bud and Harriet thankfully pulled the dark material from over their eyes and allowed their sensitised eyes to adjust back to light again. They seemed to be in the courtyard of a set of buildings, all in the traditional style of Russian buildings, cold grey concrete, designed to keep out the harsh Russian winter, but also all flickers of sunlight. Mac couldn't decide exactly what this compound reminded her of. It seemed to resemble an old Soviet military compound, but there was another hint to it as well, an air of something that she couldn't decipher. It all seemed so military and precise, but yet had a type of softness to it as well, something personalised.

They were snapped out of their thoughts as a man approached them from an exit from the nearest building.

"You are the Anderson and Whitman families?" questioned, as he held his hand out and shook with each of them in turn.

At the couples affirmation, he continued, introducing himself, "I am Sergei, I am aother general practitioner here at our orphanage. Dr. Zebrovnik has been in touch with me over the past couple of days. He's been telling me a bit about you all."

"Please," Bud spoke up, "call us Gemma and Mike."

"And call us Garry and Chris," Harm added.

"Yes, I like very much the warm, personal ways of America," Sergei approved, "That is just what our children here need. Because of the large numbers of children who come here, we are never able to give them quite as much love as children require. It will be nice to see some of our children go away home with you, once all of the preliminary affairs are sorted out."

"Dr. Zebrovnik seemed to think that we would be able to get that done much sooner than if we had gone through official channels," Bud spoke up.

"Yes, that is right," Sergei told him, "Like everything in Russia, the out-dated relics of our history are extremely slow to get moving. However, we hope that this will be a new pathway for the children of Russia, one that will offer them a better future."

With that, Harm, Mac, Bud and Harriet were escorted into a nearby building.

Inside, they were introduced to Zania, one of the assistants in the kindergarten classes.

"We are so glad you have chosen to come to our orphanage. It is more like a small village here and I'm sure that you will find the perfect child to bring home with you and make a part of your family."

Mac and Harriet greeted her warmly, with the traditional double cheek kiss.

"Zania knows much more about the daily life of the children at our orphanage," Sergei told them, "She will be able to give you more of an idea about that than I. I, however, know the personal history of each of the children here. Our children range in age from birth to about fourteen years old. They have come from all areas across our large country, from all manner of backgrounds. Perhaps we could start by narrowing down the age range of the children who you are focussed on?"

Harm and Mac, Bud and Harriet looked at each other for a minute.

Zania spoke up, reassuring, "It is perfectly okay if you have not thought about that, yet. We simply just wanted to speed up the process for you. We have got plenty of time today to cover the whole age range of the children here."

"The majority of the couples who come here look mainly at the children within the first year of life," Sergei explained to them, "If that is what you were looking for, we could take you over to the east wing of the village, where our baby's unit is. The children there are from birth to infancy."

"Well," mused Harriet out-loud, "Michael and I were thinking that we would be as happy with an older child as with a younger child. I know people say that you bond more quickly with a child within the first months of life, but we feel that we could give any child a happy, loving home, whether they're under a year old or over."

Harm also spoke up, here, "Christine and I have been thinking, as well, that we would like a slightly older child. Our families have children who are already of school age and we feel our child may settle better when they have cousins who are of a similar age."

"Very good," Sergei approved, "those are very sensible considerations that you have made. Then, we shall start in the main training hall first. For the next hour or so, we shall have children who are between three and fourteen in there."

They walked down one hallway, down a flight of stairs and through another hallway, to an adjoining building.

"Here at our village, we have several government-supported programs, so we can try to give each of our children the best future possible. Our programs consist of early-age accelerated training in several different occupations. When our children first enter kindergarten at three years old, they go through a battery of tests and examinations to determine which areas they show an aptitude for and will progress in most. This includes a music program, various academic programs, a dance and gymnastics program, an arts program and an athletics program. Some of our orphans, those who do not manage to secure homes, enter high levels in their chosen field. Some of them chose to remain with us after they reach the age of independence, to share their knowledge and to help secure a future for the younger children here."

They were led up a flight of stairs and across a hall.

"The training hall is not much further," Zania told them, "You shall probably hear the children before you see them. They tend to get very worked up when they come for their training."

Harm, Mac, Bud and Harriet all smiled at that, thinking about the days when they had seen little AJ rip around the garden, at the family's home in Richmond. There was something innately beneficial about the outdoors when it came to the well being of children. All four thought about how sad it was that the children here were kept indoors, the majority of the time.

Sure enough, as they were ascending another flight of stairs, they heard distant chatter and the sound of activity. Sergei led them to an upstairs viewing gallery, were they stood and looked down on the busy training hall.

"All of our children here are between three and fourteen years old. Some of the children here have only just started in the program," he told them, pointing out a group of small children, who were being instructed by a set of teenagers, obviously older residents of the orphanage. They were being taught basic gymnastics skills, in a strict but patient manner.

"The groups on the far side of the hall consist of older children, more advanced in their training."

The couples looked over to see a larger range of children taking part in more advanced gymnastics, the equipment seemingly larger than that of the younger children.

"All of the equipment we use in our program is second-hand, donated by the country's national team. This ensures that we get equipment that is safe and suitable for the children. Some of the older children will go on to compete for a scholarship at national-level training. Maybe in the future, they will go on to great things and we may be able to get more support from the government. As hard as we work to ensure funding for the next year, we go through periods when it is a struggle even to feed our children. You may be reassured to hear that is where your money is going to."

Harm very much doubted that. In all probability, the children at this orphanage would never see a dollar of the money paid through illegal adoptions. That would all be squandered by the greedy conmen.

Mac watched the children who were practicing their routines on the sets of uneven and parallel bars, on the far side of the wall. All of them looked especially skilled for a child of their age. She realised that some of them were probably older than they looked, their growth stunted by a combination of lacking nutrition and long, gruelling days in the gymnasium. Bud and Harriet were looking at a large area of arena at the left of the hall, where children of differing ages formed orderly lines, waiting for their turn to practice their tumbling in a line across the floor arena. There were rhythmic thuds, as they landed each successive somersault, with varying twists put into the sequence.

"Over there is our youngest accelerated group," Sergei pointed out a small area of carpeting, where the children were seated on the floor, stretching out and warming up,

"Those children are all under four years old and have shown great promise in their gymnastic abilities. They take our accelerated classes and have improved greatly over the short course of their classes so far."

Just then, a young man standing by a set of parallel benches, topped by a thin layer of carpeting, spoke up, gaining the attention of the children sitting on the floor.

"That is Ivan," Zania spoke up, "he is our head coach. He oversees the accelerated classes personally."

Mac heard him say something to the children, although she could not make out what over the noise from the rest of the training hall. A little girl, looking no more than three or so, in response to Ivan, stood up from where she was sitting and hurried over to him. Her short, light blond hair was braided into two pigtails and she was dressed in a pink leotard underneath her dark pink warm-up tracksuit jacket. Taking off her jacket, she stretched her legs in preparation for her warm-up.

Her coach spoke to her for a minute then took her by the arm, leading her up and onto one of the benches. Holding her underneath the arms, he instructed her straddle over the benches and sink low, into side-splits between the two benches. The little girl sat like this for a minute, adjusting, then her coach guided her a bit further. This was repeated, the little girl going a little further down each time. She grimaced as she sank low, into perfect splits, but said nothing, squeezing her lips together to keep in any sound of pain. Mac managed to catch what was said next, because the group of tumblers had stopped to move over to other apparatus. The little girl was struggling to keep silent as Ivan forced her down.

"Further…you were going much lower than this yesterday," Ivan instructed her, obviously displeased.

The little girl took another breath and squeezed her eyes closed as she was pushed down further, going from perfect splits into over-splits.

"Relax," Ivan told her, "You will have less pain if your muscles are relaxed."

"Hurts," the tiny girl complained, as she her eyes started to tear.

"You will never get anywhere if you cannot take a little pain," Ivan told her, severely, cutting off her cries of pain.

Tears ran out of the little girl's eyes and down her cheeks as she continued to suffer from burning pains through her leg muscles, the hard benches biting into her ankles painfully, even through the thin carpeting over them. She scrambled and grasped at Ivan's arms and jacket, looking for better purchase and support.

After a few more minutes, Ivan lifted her up slowly, letting her muscles come out of the position they had been previously locked in. As he put her down, he noticed her wet face.

"What is this!" he cried out angrily, "Tears? I do not allow crying little babies in my gymnasium! Get out of my sight child, before I really start to lose my temper!"

The little girl ran off across the hall, going to hide between a set of blue crash mats, stacked in the storage area at the far side of the hall.

Bud and Harriet were watching this, feeling their hearts go out in sympathy to the little girl, even though they understood nothing about what was actually going on below them. They did not need to know the language to know that this little girl needed comfort and reassurance, something that they as parents felt the compulsion to give.

"I know that Ivan's training methods seem very harsh to you," Zania explained to them, a few minutes later, "but you have to understand what kind of a world most of these children will grow up to live in. Competition is something that is so common to life in Russia, in general and we want to prepare our children as much as possible. To sit down and cry, to admit defeat would get them nowhere, while fighting and striving to succeed and working harder for it would benefit them more. That is an approach that we must therefore engrain into all of them, even from just three years old."

Both couples just nodded, pretending that they understood. Inside, their mind was telling them that, as mean as the world was outside, children were children and were not able to cope with such regimentation and severity.

Back down on the training floor, where the accelerated group were still undergoing stretching, Ivan was still reprimanding the children. One little girl with long, light brown hair in braids had stood up from her place on the floor, making to follow the other little girl to her place between the crash mats.

"Sit down!" Ivan ordered her, making the little girl freeze, "You will pay no notice to Sashenka. She knows the rules of this gym. No crying, no whining, no complaining. You should all be thankful for the pain that you go through. This pain will get you everywhere in life outside the village. It will be what will set you above the rest of your competition! Always remember where you came from and be thankful that you've being given this chance, to be the best that you can be, not stuck back on the streets, living in misery."

The little girl quickly sat back down again, putting her thumb into her mouth and rocking back and forth, in an attempt at self-comfort. Thankfully, Ivan did not see this, or he would have had more to complain about. After a few minutes, while Ivan was distracted, working at stretching with the next child in line, the little girl quietly slipped away, carefully making her way around all of the groups of people and apparatus to where the pile of blue crash mats lay. She quickly disappeared between them, to check on and comfort her friend inside.

After this, Sergei gained the couple's attention again, as he began speaking again about the different programs that the orphanage offered to the children and about what each one entailed. He then went on to outlining some of the advantages of these programs, detailing the things that children from the orphanage had gone on to achieve. As he was telling them about one of their former orphans going on to compete in the previous Commonwealth Games, Harriet's attention drifted back to the children hiding between the crash mats in the gym below. Both little girls had emerged from the mats, holding hands in a mutual display of support. The little girl with short blond hair was wiping her face with her hand, while the other little girl with long brown hair was still sucking her thumb. They both made their way back to where the children in their training group were sitting. They sat down on the floor together, but dropped hands and ceased thumb-sucking, as Ivan turning back around, to survey the children

"Ah, Sashenka…" he exclaimed, focussing on his previous object of ridicule, "I see you have given up that foolish crying. Are you ready for some serious training now?"

The little girl nodded, earnestly and stood up, quickly and robotically making her way over to Ivan.

"Saskia," he summoned a teenage girl, standing nearby at a set of uneven bars apparatus, "You will come and continue training the kinder-elites. I need to do some one-to-one training."

At this point, Sergei had finished what he had been saying, so Bud also looked over to see what the harsh coach Ivan was subjecting the small child to, this time.

Ivan led his charge over to a beam, low by adult standards, but still very high in the mind of a three-year-old child.

"Up you go," he instructed the little girl, grabbing her under the arms and lifting her up onto the beam. The little girl complied with his request and lifted and tucked her legs as she was lifted, landing on top of the beam and bending at the knees to absorb any impact that might make her lose her balance.

"Today, Sashenka, we will work on your upper body strength. You shall be doing what you watched Jordan display, yesterday. You will start off sitting down on the beam, one leg on either side."

The little girl quickly complied with his orders.

"Good, now place your hands on the beam, straighten your arms and lean forward."

Again the little girl did as she was told.

"Now, push into your arms, lift yourself off the beam...Good, now try again, see if you can push yourself higher. Yes, that's good, can you lift your legs? Point them out in front of you, like you saw Jordan do, yesterday. "

Little Sashenka, with the assistance and physical support of her coach was practicing lifting the whole of her body into a balance above the beam, her legs parallel to it and her hands the only part of her body actually in contact with the apparatus. Because of her young age and limited physical strength, Ivan was supporting most of her weight at the waist, but increased physical strength would come with time and practice.

"Good, hold your body just like that, legs straight…toes pointed…good, now, lift from your hips, bring them up above your shoulders…"

With Ivan's assistance, the little child managed to slowly, shakily bring her hips above her shoulders, her legs still apart and straight out, at a right angle to the rest of her body.

"Alright, now, slowly bring your legs up and together," Ivan instructed, one arm around Sashenka's hips, holding the majority of her weight, the other guiding her legs up. Her balance swayed as weight transferred to different points on her body, but with Ivan's support, she managed to get into a straight and surprisingly elegant handstand for a child as young as she.

"Very good, Sashenka," Ivan praised her, "We shall make an elite gymnast of you yet. Now, I will hold you and when I say, slowly bend your arms, tuck in your head and you shall roll forward, back down to sitting again."

The little girl complied perfectly with his command and nodded eagerly when Ivan asked her if she thought she could do the skill again.

"Good, show me," Ivan encouraged her, "Let me see you do it nicer this time. No bent knees, keep those toes pointed. I want to see a nice little gymnast, not a clumsy little monkey."

From where they were standing, Bud and Harriet's eyes were riveted on the little girl below them. Zania noticed and commented, "Ah, our little Sasha has caught your eye?

She's a very promising gymnast, she and those of her age have been enrolled in the gymnastics program for less than six months, only. She was moved up to accelerated classes after showing a very obvious aptitude during preliminary testing."

"She's very talented," Bud commented, "Children her age are far beyond doing that on the ground, let alone on a beam."

"The thing about starting children off young in this sort of training is that they show no apprehension or fear at all. They are willing to do almost anything and also pick the skills up a lot easier. Sasha may show a little apprehension on occasion, but is not her true nature."

"Perhaps," Sergei spoke up, "if the two of you would like, we could return to my office, where I could dig out some of our background files on Sasha and you could learn more about her? I believe that Sasha was handed over to us shortly after her birth, she was the child of a single, teenage mother. Maybe while we're there, we could clear up some of the preliminary details about funding…"

Bud had wondered how long it would take the man to bring up the subject of money. He and Harriet went off with Sergei, while Harm and Mac stayed with Zania to continue their tour of the orphanage.

Zania led them down the stairs from the viewing gallery and across a courtyard to a set of classrooms. All the classrooms were empty, since the children were in the gymnasium, but Zania still explained to them about the teaching methods that were applied in the orphanage.

"These days," she told them, "Much is being documented about sensory and active play. Here, we find that we have little resources to accommodate such activities, although we do try to include painting into our curriculum. Books and story telling are similarly limited, since the donation of books to us is so restricted and the number of children in the orphanage so large. However, we find that we are able to make very good use of what we do have, by cycling the use of materials daily between classes. This tends to keep the children in each class sufficiently interested."

"So many people would take for granted the amount of resources that the average school receives, back in the States," Harm commented, in sympathy.

Zania nodded her head in agreement, noting, "That is why the payments made by the couples wanting to adopt children from our orphanage are so vital. They will form the future of the children who remain here."

Mac was starting to wonder just how she was meant to make a decision on any one child here at the orphanage. There were so many children, each individual and unique in their own way.

At that moment, a kindergarten class returned from the gymnasium, all walking in a long line behind their teacher. Children were walking in pairs, each holding hands tightly with their 'buddy', seemingly so nobody would get lost or left behind on the journey from the training hall to the classroom.

Harm and Mac noticed the little girls from their survey of the gymnasium. The little girl whom Bud and Harriet had noticed, with the short, blond pigtails, was walking at the back of the line, struggling to pull on her left tracksuit jacket-sleeve and keep up with the procession. She suddenly lost her slipper in her rushed state and stopped to run back and get it. In doing so, she had let go of her buddy's hand and fallen well behind the group. Luckily, her buddy, the little girl with long, light-brown braids had quickly noticed this and ran back to her, helping her put her slipper back on securely then taking her hand again as they both ran to catch up with their class, further up the hallway.

To Harm and Mac, it seemed perfect. Being as close to Bud and Harriet as they were, who better a child to choose than the best-friend of the little girl whom their friends had set their hearts on?

"What do you think, Chris?" Harm turned to Mac, "Is that her? Is that our little girl?"

Mac nodded back, exclaiming, "Yes, I definitely think so! Oh Garry! She's perfect!"

Zania noted their enthusiasm and commented, "Yes, Katya and Sasha are best friends. They have known each other from within a year of joining us at our little village.

Ekaterina, who we call Katya, was the child of a drug-addicted mother. She was put into our care because she was being neglected. Her mother spent her state child allowance on drugs for herself, instead of on food for the child. Katya joins Sasha in the accelerated gymnastics classes, although her forté is ballet. She and Sasha both attend three accelerated dance classes every week."

At this, Zania led Harm and Mac back to Sergei's office in the first building they had passed through. All of the hallways and stairwells were beginning to resemble a maze and neither Harm nor Mac thought that they would be able to find their way back through them without a guide. Once they arrived outside Sergei's office, Zania showed them to a couch in a waiting area, to wait for Sergei to conclude his meeting with Bud and Harriet.

Once they emerged from the office, Sergei ushered Harm and Mac inside, where he went over Ekaterina's personal history with them. It was as Zania had explained to them, Katya had been taken into custody following neglect by her Mother. The little girl was now only three and a half years old, still and was enrolled in kindergarten. Other than that, no family history was known about her, apart from her mother's surname, 'Ivanovich'

Despite her tough start in life, Katya was now a thriving three year old, progressing well in most aspects of her development, apart from the fact that she was on the lower side of the height-range for a child her age. Sergei explained that this was the case for many children living at the orphanage. The limited funds meant that they were constantly rationing and conserving the small amounts of meagre quality food that they did have, looking forward to the lean periods that would come, as inevitable as the next snowstorm.

It was arranged that Harm and Mac would return to the orphanage in three days time, with the preliminary payment of five hundred thousand dollars. Once all of the 'minor' details had been sorted out, a collection time would be arranged, where the final ten thousand dollars would be handed over, in exchange for the child.

"We look forward greatly to seeing you again in three days time," Sergei bid them farewell as he ushered them back outside to where they had left the SUV. All four had spinning minds as they were driven back to their hotel in Moscow.

OOOO


	4. Chapter 4

OOOO

Part Four

"Mac, do you fancy going out into town for dinner?" Harm asked Mac, from across the room.

When he got no answer, he turned to see what was occupying her. She seemed to be lost in her own little world.

"Mac, you okay over there? Mac, hello…"

"Huh?" Mac jumped to life, "Sorry, just thinking…What were you saying?"

"I wondered if you wanted to eat out tonight…Where were you just then? Are you okay?"

"Yeah," Mac dismissed quickly, "I'm fine, my mind was just somewhere else….I'd actually prefer to just stay in the hotel tonight. I don't really feel like going anywhere else tonight."

"You sure you're okay?" Harm asked her, concerned, "We don't even need to leave the room, if you don't want, we could just get room service. Do you want to talk about this?"

"No, lets just go downstairs to the restaurant tonight," Mac dismissed again, rushing her words, "It'll probably do more good if we left the room, started mixing with the people in the hotel…Maybe Bud and Harriet will be down there."

Harm didn't push the point, thinking that being able to touch base with Harriet again might do Mac some good. The two of them were very close, even when they were both so busy at JAG. Clay had said that it would probably be okay for them to meet up for a bit, now that they had 'met each other' through the adoption ring.

Mac quickly went into the bathroom to change, while Harm called down to the restaurant to make reservations.

Bud and Harriet had also made a reservation in the restaurant that night. They were there for about half-an-hour before Harm and Mac were, talking quietly between themselves.

When Harm and Mac arrived, they quickly waved them over.

"Hi there!" Bud greeted them cheerily, "How are the two of you doing tonight? You out celebrating?"

"Oh yes, we are," Harm told him, enthusiastically, putting an arm around Mac for effect, "It's been a heck of a day, hasn't it?"

"I can't remember the last time I felt this excited," Harriet told them, "Not even on the plane here. I guess I've been trying to keep my hopes realistic. But now it seems like everything's going to work out this time."

"Of course it is, sweetheart," Bud told Harriet, smiling in assurance, "In three days time, everything will be sorted out and we'll be arranging for our little girl to come home with us."

Harriet looked back to Harm and Mac, happily.

"Have the two of you got reservations? You're welcome to join us."

"Are you sure you won't mind that?" Mac asked Bud and Harriet, looking to Harm first to check that it would be alright.

"Of course it would," Bud told them.

"Okay," Harm agreed, "Maybe we'll get a chance to talk some more about our girls."

Harm and Mac took seats at the table and they all settled into easy chitchat.

"So what is it that you do, Mike?"

"Gemma and I are both Lieutenant j.g.'s in the Navy. We're based in Washington DC. The two of you?"

"I'm a Lieutenant Commander. Wow, it is a small world. Chris is an agent with the Bureau. We live in Quantico, though I have to travel into Norfolk for work."

"What made you decide to come all of this way, to find your child?" Harriet asked them.

"Well," Mac told her, "I heard about the problem of orphaned children in Russia from a friend of mine at work. She did a PhD on the subject. Garry and I discussed it a bit then just decided to go for it. I guess that we've just been disappointed so much before that we realised that we didn't have anything else to lose, anymore. You can't succeed if you're not willing to put your heart on the line. We felt that we had to try."

"Wow, it feels as if you're describing the two of us," Bud exclaimed, "Gemma and I read an article in Time magazine last year and decided to do some careful research on orphanages in Russia. We know of a family who adopted their children abroad, too, although they went to Vietnam and to China. I guess Russia is just a little bit closer, though."

They passed several hours like this in comfortable conversation. It helped settle Mac's feelings, although she would have liked to talk to Bud and Harriet using their real personas. All four knew that would be too dangerous, though, especially now that the ball had really started rolling. It was a small comfort, though and when they went back to their suite that night, Mac found that she didn't have too much difficulty drifting off to sleep. Harm had picked up on Mac's emotions clearly, though and was now trying to think of ways in which he could approach Mac and get her to talk to him about what was going on inside her head. Their mission would always come second to him in terms of priorities. Mac's emotional well being would always come first and if she told him that she needed to pull out, he'd support her completely.

OOOO

Mac seemed much brighter and cheerier by the next morning. Harm felt a bit more at ease and decided to play things by ear for a while, because bringing the situation up again might end up doing more damage than good. But he'd be best to keep an eye on the situation, too.

"We'd better look like we're really doing something," Mac told him, that morning, as they were returning from breakfast, "It's going to look kind of suspicious if we don't start preparing for bringing a child into our lives."

"But Mac," Harm gently pointed out, "That isn't actually going to happen…As much as we wish it would, we're going to have to hand Katya back to the Russian social services once the bad guys have been rounded up and the operation is over."

Mac froze as he spoke and Harm immediately felt guilty for rubbing more salt into the wounds. It was something that he really had not wanted to do.

Mac quickly pulled herself together, arguing, "Yes, but we've got to keep up appearances, don't we? We have no idea just how closely we're being watched. Besides, shopping can be a fun leisure activity and with CIA money, we won't have to worry about the bills! When this is all over, we can always donate the gifts to the orphanage."

Harm thought about it for a second, "You know…you're right Mac! I say that we go totally wild with our CIA ready-cash account! Let's go out and spend like we've never spent before!"

Mac just beamed back at Harm and he realised that his heart had stopped. There really wasn't much better in life that seeing a happy Sarah MacKenzie.

OOOO

They scoured all of the major shopping centres in the city that day, spending liberally using the credit card that Webb had supplied them with. Harm was pleasantly surprised at just how much he was enjoying a pastime that he'd previously dismissed as purely feminine. Part of him realised that it was Mac's company that influenced his participation. But there was a part of it that was something more, something that he'd never experienced before. He was growing up, gaining a real maturity. His Mother had always teased him that he was still such a little boy, sometimes. But lately he found himself seriously considering settling down, ceasing his spontaneous, frivolous antics. There was a lot to be said for stability and maturity. Well, if this didn't help him in his personal life, at least the Admiral's trust in him wouldn't suffer! His CO would be happy, to not worry about what Harm was going to get up to next!

They were hauling their bags home, heading across the road to the Sheraton, when they encountered Bud and Harriet, on their way out to an early dinner and a theatre performance.

"My goodness!" Bud exclaimed, "Doing some shopping for your little girl?"

He and Harriet shot them a curious look and Mac knew the question that was circling through their minds.

"Some," Mac explained, "but we thought that we'd buy some stuff to donate to the orphanage, too. Zania was telling us yesterday that they're short on a lot of teaching materials for their classrooms."

"I think we're going to have to buy them a set of shelves, just to put all of these books on," Harm joked, lifting up several bags of children's picture books.

"That's so thoughtful!" Harriet exclaimed, "We really should have thought about that, too."

"It's even better if you charge it all to the 'company account,'" Harm added, grinning.

Bud smiled back, nodding in understanding.

"Are you guys going anywhere nice?" Mac enquired, noting that Harriet and Bud were dressed up, tonight.

"We're going for a meal out, then we're going to see a production," Bud told them,

"'Carmen.'"

"Very nice," Mac approved, nodding in Harm's direction, "I wish this one would think like that!"

"Hey," Harm protested, "You never told me that you wanted to go see a stage production! You only needed to ask."

"I can't complain, really," Mac conceded to Bud and Harriet, "He did help me pick out all of these gifts."

Bud and Harriet just smiled then the couples parted ways, Bud and Harriet heading to their night out, Harm and Mac heading to their suite, to go over the day's purchases.

OOOO

Later on, relaxed on the bed, Harm watched Mac begin to unpack the shopping bags. Books were placed in one pile, other toys in another and focus was put first on the clothes that they had bought.

"Oh, isn't this the most adorable little thing that you've ever seen in your whole life?" Mac exclaimed, pulling a little dress out of a carrier bag. She teamed it with white patent leather shoes with clip-on buckles at the side and frilly white socks.

Harm found himself smiling, both at the adorable outfit and at how Mac was acting. He had always known that she carried a maternal side, but it wasn't often that it came out for the world to see. It wasn't exactly an obvious compliment to her Marine green uniform.

"What?" Mac asked, looking over at him, "Don't you think it's cute?"

"Of course I do, name one person who wouldn't!" Harm told her, getting into the swing of things, too, "Where are the little purple overalls that you got, with the butterflies on the front?"

"Right here," Mac said, grabbing another bag off the floor, "It was in that shop where we got those suede boots with the tassel trim."

Over the next hours, they re-examined boots, shoes, slippers, robes, pyjamas, dresses, socks, skirts, t-shirts, jeans, trousers, coats, scarves, gloves, bonnets and hats.

When that was done, they went through all of the toys, which Harm got into even more. He tried to convince Mac that this sort of behaviour was a necessary part of raising a child, but Mac viewed him with scepticism.

For her part, Mac was actually glad to see Harm like this, it reminded her about times they had shared, long since past. They no longer did the same things that they used to do together, so much had happened over time, things that could never be erased from their history. Mac had decided that the best thing that they could possibly do was to move on and try to concentrate on the friendship that still remained relatively unaffected.

But had she been right to believe that the prospect of a relationship with Harm was truly dead and buried? Conceding that this was hardly the time or the place to ponder such a thought, Mac went back to what they had to deal with at present.

They all faced a difficult time ahead of them, even more so than any of them could have predicted.

OOOO

It was on the Thursday afternoon that they were contact by Dr. Zebrovnik, two days after their visit to the orphanage.

"Hello? Christine speaking," Mac spoke up, as she picked up the phone, "Oh, hello Dr. Zebrovnik! Garry and I have been looking forward to hearing from you…Yes, we are completely free tomorrow…in the morning, at eight o'clock? Yes, we will be at your office then, with the money…Goodbye."

"He's much more to the point, today. No speech about the plight of Russia's orphans, no sympathising with our rush against time, just money," Mac commented to Harm.

"Why does that not surprise me?" Harm gave a sigh, "So we're going to see him with the money, tomorrow at eight?"

Mac nodded, telling Harm, "It's just like the Sykes's told us. The bulk of the money is handed over to Zebrovnik, we're allowed to go and see Katya again afterwards, then a time and place will be set up for next week, for the final exchange of the last payment for the child."

"Bud and Harriet have probably heard from Zebrovnik, too," Harm noted, "Do you think it would be too risky for us to go round to their room, to find out what their itinerary is?"

"We probably shouldn't risk it," Mac decided, "We're so close to our final goal, now."

Harm noticed Mac's sudden deflation at her mention of this 'final goal.' Harm felt a similar feeling, inside his chest, when he paused to consider it. Even though it would signal the end and success of their mission, Harm couldn't keep from thinking about how they would also be letting down two little girls, who thought that they were about to get their greatest wish; a new Mommy and Daddy.

"Fancy a meal in, tonight?" Mac looked over and asked him, looking just how Harm was feeling.

"Yeah," he agreed.

They both gave each other sympathetic smiles, before Mac headed to the bathroom to shower and Harm went to the phone to ring down to reception, to order their meal.

The night was spent in, eating dinner followed by chocolate cake and ice-cream for desert and watching Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves on the hotel's cable TV.

OOOO

They were at the clinic early on the Friday morning. Bud and Harriet's appointment wasn't until a half-hour after theirs, so they were still at the hotel when Harm and Mac took a seat in the waiting room. Dr Zebrovnik was right on time for their appointment, which Harm supposed had a lot to do with the briefcase that they had picked up at the hotel concierge before they left. Inside it was five hundred thousand US dollars. Mac caught the doctor's eyes pause momentarily on it in Harm's hand as they were ushered into the room.

Harm placed it straight onto the doctor's desk, telling him, "The money, as we agreed."

"Good," Dr. Zebrovnik approved then tried to continue off the subject of the money.

Harm noted that he probably had it in the back of his mind, all through their subsequent discussion.

"I'm told by my contacts that you have chosen a little girl whom you have become very much attached to."

"Yes," Mac told him, looking to Harm, her smile reaching up into her eyes, "She's going to settle in perfectly with our family back home. She is around the age of most of her cousins."

"Our parents will think the world of her," Harm added, "I can just tell."

While he was saying it, Harm tried to keep his mind from wandering off to his own Mother. She would have been ecstatic to become a Grandmother.

"That warms my heart greatly, to hear that," Dr. Zebrovnik smiled, "I'm sure that you will all have a very happy life together, as a family."

Harm and Mac nodded in agreement and the doctor continued, "Now we have very little left to deal with. There are only a couple of little things, but today, we shall focus first on you spending some time with your daughter. In half an hour, my contacts shall be in the car park down the street again. I will meet you there, as soon as I have finished my duties here and we will drive together to the orphanage."

Harm and Mac nodded in understanding and left the office to go and get breakfast, while waiting for Bud and Harriet to finish their consultation with Dr. Zebrovnik. It was not long before they all met up again and were being blindfolded, Dr. Zebrovnik included, ready for the journey to the orphanage. They seemed to take a different route out of the city this time, but one just as twisting and disorienting as the last.

According to Mac's calculations, though, they once again arrived at the orphanage after a journey of one hour, forty-three minutes.

Sergei was already waiting outside for them, so Mac supposed that Zebrovnik must have phoned ahead before he left his clinic, to let him know that they were coming.

"Good day, Mr and Mrs. Whitman, Mr. And Mrs. Anderson," the man greeted them, "it is a fine day for such a joyous meeting is it not?"

Both couples agreed, readily and followed Sergei up a set of stairs and into the building that they had seen the man emerge from, three days previous.

"Today, you will be able to spend some time with your little girls. We will go into the management building; there is a quiet little lounge in there for the orphanage staff. We will not be disturbed and you can have some time to bond with your children."

"How are the children today?" Bud questioned.

"They are just fine," Sergei replied, "We have not let them know about the adoption, yet. It would only have served to excite them and they have an important examination in their ballet class, today. They will be finished in just a few minutes and Zania shall bring them right over."

They were all shown into the main management centre, a busy floor of desks and office equipment, where most of the admission and accounting work for the orphanage seemed to be done. They took another staircase just off the office, down a flight of stairs into an open-plan lounge. They were seated on a pair of old sofas, where they continued to talk to Sergei about the children some more.

Despite her resolute convictions that she would not get personally involved in this situation, Mac began to feel an increase in her heart rate and the squirmy sensations in her stomach. It was obvious that they could not just be put down the large coffee she had had with her breakfast, earlier. Minutes passed and both Harm and Bud began to notice that they were beginning to sweat, despite the sudden cool in the weather. An assistant came in and asked them if they wanted coffee or tea, which they all declined.

Dr. Zebrovnik was just starting to mention the schedule for their last meeting, the next week, when their attention was attracted to the office above them. The heavy door to the main building sounded with a bang and all unconsciously held their breath, peering up at the top of the staircase. Dr. Zebrovnik stood from where he was sitting, also looking to the top of the stairs. Zania soon appeared, the two little girls trailing slightly behind her, one holding onto each of her hands. They had come straight from their ballet exam, both still dressed in pink pinafores and little pink ballet slippers, their hair twisted up into buns, the look finished off with a pink alice-band. They stopped short when they caught sight of the group at the bottom of the stairs below them. At first they simply stood where they were, wide-eyed, then shuffled behind Zania. Zania smiled apologetically at the group of adults as she tried and failed to pull the children out from behind her.

Dr. Zebrovnik laughed heartily and explained to Harm, Mac, Bud and Harriet,  
"I am afraid that the children are not always so glad to see me! I only meet with them a couple of times a week when I come to do my rounds and assess any of the sick children. They have come to associate me with unpleasant treatment for their maladies, as is often the case with children and their general practitioners."

He spoke softly to the children in Russian, "Come, children, do not be afraid of me. We have wonderful news to give you today."

OOOO


	5. Chapter 5

AN: This story has now been updated to an M rating. If you are under the age of 16, please read no further. If you wish, you can contact me and I will send you an edittedversion of the story...Sorry for any disappointment caused.

OOOO

Part Five

The little girls, however, were not convinced. They didn't budge an inch from behind Zania. The woman decided that the best course of action would be to allay their fears of the doctor, by distracting them with the news that they were both getting new parents.

"There, there, my children," she bent down to talk softly to them both, "Dr. Zee is right. There is no need to be frightened of him. You see, he is talking to some wonderful people today…do you see the people who he is standing with?"

Both little girls peered inquisitively from behind Zania, ducked back behind her and nodded.

"Well, they are very special people, who wanted to come and see the two of you today. Sasha, do you see the lady with the blond hair, like yours? Well, she and the man standing next to her want to become your new Mama and Papa…Katya, do you see the lady with the dark hair, standing with the very tall man? They want to become your new Mama and Papa…"

"Really?" Ekaterina asked, quietly.

Once Zania had nodded assuringly, Ekaterina braved another look at Harm and Mac and obviously decided that she liked what she saw. Zania was about to ask if they would like to become the couple's new daughters, when Ekaterina hurried straight out from behind her and towards the steps. Zania quickly took Sasha by the hand again and followed Katya.

"Just a minute, Katya," she spoke out to the girl, "Wait for Sasha and I. You are not so good on the stairs. They are very slippery. Be careful."

The little girl did as she was instructed, but did not take Zania's hand, just climbed down in front of her minder, holding carefully to the railings of the banister, allowing Zania only to grasp her arm. She eagerly descended the stairs, one at a time, right foot always first.

Harm, Mac, Bud, Harriet and Dr. Zebrovnik laughed and smiled as they watched the little girl resolutely make her way down to them. Once she had reached the last step, Harm and Mac crouched down and beckoned to her. Katya didn't need any encouragement to go to them, her ballet slippers making a tiny swishing noise as she ran across the floor to them. After she threw herself into Mac's arms, both of them made a fuss over her, automatically converting to soft, higher pitched 'motherese' speech, to try and overcome the language barrier. Mac felt an almost overwhelming urge to revert to Russian, to convey to the child just how much love she was already feeling for her. Harm felt something warm and right within his chest as he and Mac cuddled and kissed the child in her arms.

Bud and Harriet had now bent down to Sasha's level and the child confidently let go of her minder's hand and skipped over to Harriet, reaching out for her hand. Harriet felt a wash of love for her as she pulled the little girl into her arms, so like the one she had felt when she had held her little girl Sarah for the last time. Bud himself was feeling the emotions and because of the witnesses in the room, none of the adults held back their tears that afternoon. At least that's what they would justify to themselves, later, but still knowing the real reason when wrangling with the fact that this would come to an end, all too soon.

They played with the children for over an hour then Zania came over to them.

"I'm afraid the children will have to leave soon," she apologised to them, "They are usually put down for a nap in the late afternoon and they get bad-tempered and sleepy without it. You will have another chance to see them later, before you go."

Harm and Mac, Bud and Harriet reluctantly relinquished the little girls, giving them a kiss and a cuddle before they went, telling their child, "Don't worry, sweetheart. We'll come back for you, soon."

Both little girls looked downcast at their sudden departure and Zania carefully explained, "Mamma and Papa need to go and do important work with Dr. Zee. They shall come and see you again later…shall we go back to class and draw them some pictures before they leave to go home?"

Both little girls nodded, still not liking the fact that they were being separated from their new parents, but secure in the knowledge that they would see them again soon.

Dr. Zebrovnik then led Harm, Mac, Bud and Harriet up the stairs, to an office that he usually used while he was doing rounds at the orphanage.

"Please, take a seat and we shall discuss when our exchange will take place. It will take until mid-week, next week before all of Katya and Sasha's paperwork is ready. Of course, Gemma and Christine, you shall be requiring a passport on which the girls can travel as well. Those may take some days in coming through, because the manufacturers do not work on the weekends."

All of the last little details were ironed out. Harm was relieved when they were given the choice of a meeting point. Webb had already briefed them on the sort of a place that would work in their favour.

"Make sure that it's somewhere fairly busy," he had told them, "We want lots of witnesses. But don't choose somewhere too busy, because we won't be able to stake it out."

"How about the park, nearby the hotel?" Harm had suggested.

"Perfect," Webb had approved, "There's lots of tree cover there, and we'll be able to place agents out in the open, in plain clothes."

Dr. Zebrovnik nodded in agreement, when Harm suggested the meeting point in the park. His motives were that nobody would take that much notice of two couples and their children in a park, seeing as it would be busy with people.

"Yes, that sounds good. We shall meet there at three o'clock on the Thursday afternoon. We now have only the last few details to decide on. The remaining payment you will give to one of my associates, on Thursday. I shall give you Sashenka and Ekaterina and your passports, then our business shall be concluded."

The couples asked him a few more questions, mostly about how they were to get past the customs at the airports in Moscow and Dulles.

"The supplier that I get my passports from is very reputable," he told them, "The passports he produces are very high quality. You should have no problem with passport control. I will make sure that he knows just how important this all is. I'm sure he'll do the best job possible."

Harm, Mac, Bud and Harriet thought how the man's job was obviously not good enough, since the Sykes's had been stopped at the tail end of their journey. There was not a lot that got past the US customs, these days.

Once their business was finally concluded, Dr. Zebrovnik told them, "With that out of the way, we can go down to the girl's classroom. I'm sure that they shall be eager to see you."

They walked out of the admin building and across to the one in which they had been during their last visit. After a journey through a series of hallways, they found themselves at the teaching classrooms. Zania appeared from inside a classroom and came over and began to tell Bud and Harriet about structure of the teaching program in the classrooms.

Harm and Mac followed Dr. Zebrovnik over to the window of one of the classrooms and took a look inside. It did not take them a long scan of the classroom to pick Katya out. She was sitting down on the carpet, playing with a young children's jigsaw set. Her teacher was crouching beside her, offering encouragement and hints.

The teacher was called away for a moment, so Katya was left to work on her own for a few minutes. The classroom uniform was a white and blue, all in one romp suit, with white booties. Katya's hair was fixed into a ponytail on the top of her head, which bobbed as she moved her head in concentration, focussed on her task. After a few minutes like this, Katya let out a broad yawn and turned her attention away from her puzzle. She looked up to see where her teacher was, finding her over in the corner, next to the windows, giving instructions to one of the classroom assistants. She quickly noticed Harm and Mac, Bud and Harriet standing at the window and promptly pushed her puzzle aside. She got to her feet and spoke aloud a word that could not be heard by the adults through the classroom window.

However, there was no doubt to Mac what the little girl had said. Mac felt her heart stop and unconsciously lifted her hand to press against her chest, where she held it for the ensuing minutes. She realised with a start that she had now totally lost control of her feelings, but found that she didn't care.

Katya was making her way around other children towards the door of the classroom, focussed solely on her target outside. However, as she got to the far side of the classroom, she was scooped up by a classroom assistant and was carried to one of the tables and seated in a chair next to Sasha.

The assistant gave her a sheet of paper and some markers, asking her, "Would you like to draw a picture, Katya?"

Remembering what Zania had told her earlier, about making a picture for her new parents, Katya nodded. When the teaching assistant had moved onto another child, Katya looked back up to Harm and Mac at the classroom window.

Harm gave her a reassuring wave and Mac blew her a kiss, which made the little girl smile. Harm and Mac both doubted that they had ever seen anything so beautiful in the world. After that, Katya continued to babble away happily to Sasha next to her, as she carefully picked out coloured markers to draw with. Harriet and Bud watched Sasha colour away, getting more marker on her hands than on the paper in front of her. They both laughed as they thought of little AJ, who was similar in his liking of getting messy.

Suddenly, Sasha froze, her body stiffening reflexively as she let out three child-sized sneezes in a row. Her little hands went up to her face and wet marker from them smeared on her cheeks and nose. The teaching assistant turned back to her and exclaimed, taking the corner of her apron and wiping Sasha's face with it.

After that, all the children were gathered together and led to the large carpet, where they sat down to listen to their teacher read a story. Zania went into the classroom and picked up the girl's drawings, bringing them back out to Harm and Mac, Bud and Harriet.

"This is going up on the refrigerator, when we get home," Harriet announced, happily.

"I'm afraid it's now time for us to return to Moscow," Dr. Zebrovnik broke in, "Rush hour traffic will be starting soon and we won't be able to get anywhere."

Both couples reluctantly waved goodbye to the little girls, still seated on the carpet inside the classroom. Both looked like they were about to stand up and rush out to them, but one of the teaching assistants bent low to explain to them and put them at ease.

"Mamma and Papa will be back again soon to see you. The next time you see them, they will take you home with them. For now you will have to be patient. It will not be long, I promise."

Still unsure, they both stayed where they were and waved goodbye as Harm and Mac, Bud and Harriet followed Dr. Zebrovnik out. Once they were back in the car and blindfolded again, an air of depression settled over the group. All four were feeling the disappointment of leaving the children. They all knew that they would be handing the girls back to social services, after the next meeting. After that, the little girls would be out of their lives for good.

OOOO

Mac was sitting in shock on the bed inside their hotel suite, staring unseeingly out of the window.

Harm was in the bathroom, showering before they went out for dinner. He was standing still, letting the water cascade over him, wrangling with the strong feelings inside his chest. This was it, soon after this, all of the carefully constructed web would fall apart and he and Mac would be back to the old life that they had before. No child, no marriage, no relationship. How was he going to deal with that? Deciding that he was getting nowhere fast, Harm reached up and shut the water off, climbing out of the shower and pulling a towel from the towel rack to dry himself off with.

Mac was having the exact same thoughts, in the bedroom. She could no longer deny the feelings that were coursing through her. She was enjoying her brief time becoming a mother and it was something that she did not want to let go of. Being married to Harm wasn't half bad either, but she had already closed the door on that possibility. She would be happy to settle for one out of the two. Could she really be contemplating this; A child, a home, a new purpose to her life? What about JAG? She wouldn't be able to work if she was settling a new child into her life, at least not for a while. The Admiral would probably not like it, but Mac had never felt this strongly before. What was she going to do?

As Harm made his way out of the bathroom, now dressed and ready for dinner, he glanced over to where Mac was sitting on the edge of the bed.

"You alright, Mac?" he asked her.

She replied, but he didn't catch what she had said.

"Hmm?" he asked, "Sorry, I didn't catch that."

"I said, 'I can't do this', Harm."

Harm stopped trying to do his tie up and left it to dangle around his neck. He walked over to where Mac was sitting, taking a seat beside her.

"Can't do this?' You mean you want to pull out of the operation? Okay, we'll tell Webb…"

"No, Harm, that's not what I meant. I mean that I'm not going to be able to walk away at the end of this…I don't want to give her up."

"Mac…" Harm started, about to tell her that he had been having the same doubts, but Mac cut him off.

"No, really. I'm serious. She called me 'Mamma', Harm. In the classroom. I didn't hear it, but I understood it anyway. I saw the words on her lips. How can I turn my back on her now, when she thinks that I'm going to become her Mommy?"

Harm nodded emphatically in understanding.

"Yes, I know Mac. I was about to say that you shouldn't ignore it…I…I feel the same way. I don't think we should give her up to social services, when this is all over."

Mac just stared at him wordlessly for a minute then threw herself into his arms, hugging him tightly. She had never been so relieved in her life!

"Oh, thank God, you understand!" she exclaimed.

"I do Mac," Harm assured her, "Tomorrow, we'll get into contact with Webb and tell him. I promise, I won't let him leave this room until he's agreed and we've managed to work something out."

They stayed like that for a while then Mac got up to start getting ready to go out. They went to a cosy little Italian eatery that night. With their truthful admissions that night, both of them were feeling on top of the world. They had both made a real effort dressing that night, because the evening now felt like such a special occasion. Harm was in grey suit and dinner jacket and Mac had put on a black linen dress that evening. Sitting in the shadowed corner of the restaurant, they felt as if they had the whole world to themselves.

Mac smiled as she looked up and caught Harm watching her, smiling to himself. They both laughed and Harm commented, "This feels great, doesn't it?"

Mac nodded in agreement, she had to admit, life rarely felt better than it did at that moment. They ate quietly, in contented silence. They hadn't felt this at ease in a while, not even in their early days in Moscow. When they were finished with their main course, the dishes were cleared away and they both ordered the tiramisu for desert, having heard great things about it from Bud and Harriet, who had both come to the restaurant the night they went out to the theatre.

"My goodness," Harm exclaimed as he took his first bite, "Bud and Harriet weren't kidding! This is amazing!"

Once dessert was finished, they sat in silence for a few minutes, both contemplating the situation.

"So how is this all going to happen, Harm?" Mac spoke up, "How is this going to work?"

"How do you mean?" Harm questioned.

"I mean, how is this going to work once we get back to DC? We've got a lot of things to sort out. I know you probably want an equal part in Katya's life…"

"Mac," Harm stopped her then searched for the words. For a second, Mac thought that he might say that he only wanted minimal involvement, but that he would support her completely. She was relieved to find that this wasn't the case.

"I want to be a big part of Katya's life, Mac. I want her to be as much my child as she is yours. But I don't want us to parent her separately…this past week has helped me to realise a couple of things…"

Mac simply stared at him, uncomprehending.

Harm continued, "I never agreed with what you said when we got back from Paraguay. I don't believe that we don't have a chance of succeeding. I have confidence that we can make 'us' work. And not just for Katya's sake, for our own sakes, too. I love you, Sarah MacKenzie…"

Mac opened her mouth to speak, but nothing came out and a lone tear streaked down her cheek. Harm reached out and tenderly wiped it away.

"I want this Mac, I want it with you…I want a life together as a family, you, me and Katya. We're meant to be together, we always have been."

When Mac failed to find words again, Harm joked, "A speechless Sarah MacKenzie; Wow, I never thought I'd see the day!"

Mac burst into teary laughter, then became serious again and leaned forward to convey her feelings on the matter in the only way that didn't require words; A kiss.

They both felt the fireworks as their lips touched, their breath hitching in their chest.

Once they pulled away, Harm noted, "We should probably get the cheque about now, huh?"

"Yeah," Mac agreed and they got up from the table to go.

Despite the cold night air, Mac felt herself flush as Harm rested his hand on the small of her back, while they were walking back to the hotel.

Walking up the front steps, Mac reached out and smiled as she took Harm's hand in her own, interlacing their fingers. Harm raised an eyebrow and grinned back.

"Good grief!" he thought to himself, "What is it about Mac that always turns me into an awkward, gawky teenager again?"

When inside the hotel lobby, they waited for the elevator for a minute, contemplating if it would be quicker just taking the stairs. Luckily, the elevator doors opened soon and they got it all to themselves. Harm pressed the button for their floor and went to lean against the wall as the doors closed. He looked over to Mac, leaning against the opposite wall and changed his mind as he caught the look on her face. She slowly crooked a finger, beckoning him to her. He complied and her arms slid up and around his neck as his went around her waist and his lips came down to meet hers. At first the kiss was soft and exploring, but it soon became demanding and passionate. Harm groaned into Mac's mouth, feeling himself slipping over the edge.

"What on earth are we doing?" he thought to himself, "We're in the hotel elevator!"

A soft, 'Ding" signalled their arrival to their floor and luckily the scramble to their room was not a very long one. They shakily managed to open the door, silently cursing the temperamental nature of the lock, operated by a key-card. Once inside, Mac quickly closed the door behind them and pulled Harm to her, sinking against him and running her fingers up the back of his neck and into his hair. Harm groaned again loudly at this sensation, it had always been one that had driven him wild. But this was even more amazing; this was a first. He had never felt a hunger quite like this one. He knew without a doubt that this would last. Funny, he had never been one to believe in love at first sight, but he realised that this was such a case. It all suddenly seemed so clear; it now made sense. This is what they had been building up to, for all of these years…and it was totally amazing!

Harm pushed Mac backwards against the door and moved hard against her in passion, bringing their bodies flush against each other. Mac gasped softly against his mouth as leaned into her. When she kissed him with renewed hunger, he felt his passion flare up suddenly.. She gasped loudly and ground against him, lifting one leg and hooking it over his hip, so that she could feel him against her better.

"Oh Sarah!" Harm exclaimed, "My God! You feel so good."

Without any difficulty, Harm lifted Mac up higher and she compliantly shifted and hooked her other leg around him. He supported her weight easily, holding her around the backs of her hips. He sank back forward to lick and suck the skin around her collarbone. Mac wrapped an arm around him and held his head against her lightly. Unconsciously, she began grinding against his erection again and Harm began to gasp against her chest.

"I think we should move this into the bedroom, sailor," she told him, huskily.

"Mm hmm," Harm agreed, moving up her neck and wrapping both of his arms tighter around her waist and hips, so he could safely pull back from the door.

He effortlessly carried her into the bedroom of their suite, tenderly placing her down on the bed. He stood above her for a minute, taking in her dark, passion-filled eyes. Then he sank down to join her.

"I love you, Harm," she told him, softly.

"I love you too Sarah. So much," Harm reciprocated, huskily.

OOOO

That night, Dr. Zebrovnik sat in his office. The phone on his desk rang and he picked it up, to be greeted by the irate voice of Ivan Petrov on the other side.

"Why didn't you tell me about your plans!" the man asked him, angrily.

When the doctor replied that he didn't know what Ivan was talking about, the ill-tempered man got even angrier.

"Sashenka!" he exclaimed loudly, "You never told me that somebody had asked to adopt her!"

Zebrovnik cursed loudly to himself; that was what the man was talking about.

"You know that she is one of the best prospects that this orphanage has. You cannot allow for these people to take her away. The future of this orphanage could rest on her, if she goes on to great things. You know that she most probably will, there's nothing that could possibly stop her, apart from being taken from the village."

When the doctor failed to support him on this opinion, Ivan decided to play on his weakness; his greed.

"If the child leaves the village, you know what will happen? Your little enterprise will have no future. Sashenka is this orphanage's best hope of staying open. At the very least, the orphanage will have to send half of its children to other facilities, within the next few years. There just aren't enough funds to keep running a place as big as this. The orphanage will stop attracting as many prospective buyers. I doubt the orphanage will survive into the next decade, unless some very concentrated attention is focussed upon it, to attract government funding. The child will bring that attention, I just know it. Her talent will keep us afloat. It will keep your money coming in. Tell me, doctor, do you think that you can afford to lose the money that you are earning?"

Zebrovnik knew the answer to this question. Of course he couldn't…He had massive debts with former members of the KGB. He had been in debt to them for as long as he could remember. He had accrued debts carried over from his deceased Father and plenty of his own, as well. These debts were accruing interest as he spoke, with each breath he took. He could not afford to lose his half of the money he was getting from the adoptions. There was no way he would live to tell the tale, he was barely keeping afloat at the moment.

"No, Ivan, I cannot," he told the man on the other end of the phone line, "I will manage to think up of some excuse. I'll make sure that Sashenka does not leave the orphanage."

With a deep sigh, Zebrovnik hung up and began to play with an idea in his head…Could he possibly turn the bad situation currently playing in the orphanage to his advantage?

OOOO


	6. Chapter 6

AN: Just a quick note to say thank-you to all who gave such fantastic reviews. I know that you all want a happy ending all round, but I'm afraid that things simply cannot be that easy. But don't give up heart, we will get there in the end. Please keep the faith...

OOOO

Part Six

Harm and Mac both awoke the next morning to the sound of a knock on the front door.

Harm quickly threw on a bathrobe then made his way through the suite to answer the front door, cursing the fact that he hadn't put a 'do not disturb' sign on the front door.

"Good morning, Sir," the bellboy standing at the door greeted him, "I'm sorry to disturb you so early, but an important call has come for you."

The bellboy held a tray in one hand, with a cordless phone sitting on it.

He held it out to Harm, who took it, puzzled.

"Thank you," Harm dismissed the man in front of him, and went back into the room, hitting the talk button on the phone.

"Hello," he asked the silence over the phone line.

He was relieved when Webb spoke up on the other end.

"Rabb," Webb addressed him, "You okay to speak right now? Is Mac there with you?"

"Yeah, it's fine," Harm told him, "Mac's just in the other room, she'll be through in a minute…What are you calling for? I thought that we weren't supposed to have any contact, during the mission."

Mac padded through into the room, going to the kitchen and making herself a cup of tea. She returned to the living room, walking up to Harm and tucking herself into his arms, resting her head on one of his shoulders. Harm hugged her back, but devoted most of his attention to what Webb was saying on the phone.

"It must be important," he reasoned, "Maybe it's about the collection point, the next week."

"Webb, the meeting has been set up, at three o'clock next Thursday, in the park near the hotel..."

"No, Harm," Webb spoke up, "That's not why I was calling you…There's something important…I don't know quite how serious it is…but…just turn on the television, alright? Flick through the channels, look for the local Moscow news channel."

Harm quietly stepped from Mac's embrace, giving her an apologetic look.

He crossed to the TV and turned it on with the remote, flipping channels until her reached the right one. The reporter was standing in a hospital…Harm didn't realise anything for a second. A subtitle on the screen read, "SARS outbreak."

"SARS?" Mac mused aloud, "Here?"

The reporter announced that twelve people were already known to have died, although four cases were unconfirmed to be due to the deadly strain. Just then, Harm and Mac's mouths dropped open and Mac gasped, as the report showed an aerial film clip of a set of buildings just outside of Moscow, filmed from a helicopter.

"Webb!" Harm exclaimed, his heart now in his mouth, "That's the orphanage! There's SARS in the orphanage…"

"Jesus," Webb cursed, "I heard the news about SARS hitting an orphanage near Moscow, but I was really hoping that it wouldn't be the one that our children are in."

"Webb!" Mac interrupted, grabbing the phone from Harm, "Have you heard anything? Who are the people infected in there? Are the girls…"

"I don't know, Mac," Webb cut her off, "I haven't heard anything…I haven't managed to contact Bud and Harriet, yet…They don't know about the SARS."

"Is it going to be okay for us to go through and see them," Mac asked, "to let them know?"

"It should be okay," Webb reasoned, "You guys should seem to know each other well enough by now."

Harm took the phone from Mac and spoke to Webb again.

"What do we do now? How are we going to find out if…if everything's going to go ahead on Thursday?"

"You'll just have to wait for word from your contact," Webb instructed, "Go through to Bud and Harriet first, let them know what is going on, then come back here. I'll have another phone sent up to them, so that I'll be able to contact you both if either of you get news. We'll just have to wait for your contacts."

Harm hung up and told Mac what Webb had instructed them to do. Mac felt herself wilting when she thought of the awful possibilities that a phone call from their contacts might bring. Harm pulled her into a hug, telling her, "Everything's going to be okay."

"But Harm," Mac protested, "What if…"

"No," Harm insisted, "You remember that time that Bud and Harriet called us? They were in a panic because they had taken little AJ shopping and he'd gone missing in the mall. They were afraid that somebody might have taken him and the mall was so huge that all the entrances and exits couldn't all be sealed closed for a good ten minutes. Remember where they found him?"

"In the ice cream parlour," Mac noted, smiling softly, "Somebody had taken pity on him and had bought him an ice cream while they waited for the clerk to contact the mall security."

"Exactly," Harm told her, "There's no point in panicking yet, when we don't know anything for sure. Let's go and see Bud and Harriet, then we'll come back here and wait."

They quickly showered and dressed, then made their way to Bud and Harriet's suite. Bud answered the door.

"Hi! What are you guys doing here?" He asked them, "Is there something wrong?"

"We've seen something on the TV," Harm told him, as they were ushered inside, "We thought we should let you both know."

Bud went and turned on the television, as Harriet made her way through from the kitchen, where they had both been getting breakfast ready.

Both she and Bud stood back to see what was being reported.

"It's SARS," Harm told them both, "and it's in the orphanage."

Bud and Harriet looked at him, horror struck.

"Webb contacted us this morning, to let us know. Apart from that, he doesn't know anything about the fatalities or the casualties."

Bud reached out and took Harriet's hand.

"Everything's going to be okay," he told her with determination, "They can't…They're both going to be okay."

Mac made her way over to Harriet and pulled her into a hug as Harriet began to cry.

"No," she moaned, "Not again…not again."

"She'll be fine, Harriet," Mac told her, "They both will be…They have to be."

"What has Webb instructed us to do?" Bud asked Harm, his voice hushed.

"Webb says that we need to wait by the phone," Harm told Bud, "Wait for contact from Dr. Zebrovnik. Webb said he's going to have a phone sent up to you, so that he can contact you over a safe line."

Bud nodded and Harm put a comforting hand on his shoulder, "It'll be okay, Bud."

Bud nodded again, with a determinism that he didn't feel.

"Could this really be happening again?" he fretted inside his head.

Harm and Mac returned to their room after a bit, to wait it out. While they were waiting, they decided to watch the TV, to see if they would see anything more on the news. Preliminary reports hinted that the breakout could possibly have been known about by the orphanage staff, although none of the sick children had been reported to the World Health Organisation. Harm and Mac felt anger, knowing that the old and the young were the most at risk from this deadly bug. When all of the same news started to be repeated again, they both returned to their bedroom, where Mac curled up in Harm's arms as they waited. Hours passed as they sat in an emotional purgatory. Harm stroked Mac's hair softly, as tortured thoughts passed through his mind. Would they see their little girl again? After all that they had managed to sort out, last night, it couldn't be that they wouldn't get to bring their baby girl home after all, could it? No, that just couldn't be. It was just too awful to contemplate. He and Mac had finally found each other, they would be knocked for six if they'd have to recover from this. This could devastate them…And Bud and Harriet, they couldn't lose another child. Harriet just wouldn't be able to deal with this.

Harm felt a wet spot on his t-shirt and looked down to see Mac begin to sob into his chest.

"Aw, Sarah," he lamented, softly, "Don't cry, sweetheart."

He gathered her into him and rocked them both softly, Mac tucking her wet face into his neck.

"Everything's going to be okay," he repeated to her softly, over and over again,

"Everything's going to be okay."

Mac eventually fell asleep in his arms and he continued to rock her gently in his arms. He hadn't any idea how much time had passed, when the phone finally rang. Mac jumped and woke straight away in his arms.

"That's them, Harm," she whispered urgently.

Harm slightly reluctantly reached over and picked the phone up from the bedside table.

"Dr. Zebrovnik?" he answered and his heart skipped a beat as the Dr. spoke up on the other end of the line.

"Yes, Mr Anderson, it is me. I have called to put you at ease, I'm sure that you must have seen the news today."

"Yes, we have," Harm told him, "My wife and I have been very worried."

"Your little girl is fine," Dr. Zebrovnik assured him, "Katya is unaffected, but has been removed from the orphanage, just in case. She is being monitored in a hospital and we'll know for sure in a couple of days whether she has been infected or not. This is unlikely, but as some of the infected children were from the kindergarten classes, this is just a precaution. Our meeting should go ahead on Thursday, at three o'clock."

Harm let out a sigh of relief as he informed Mac of the good news, pulling her into an elated hug.

"Thank you, Doctor. Thank you so much!" he thanked the man then stopped, asking, "You don't happen to know about Katya's little friend, Sasha, do you?"

"That is something that I can't talk to you about, I'm afraid," the doctor told him, "The Whitman family has been contacted. I'm sorry, but I have to keep that information between myself and them, because of ethical issues."

"I understand," Harm told him, "Thank you again for letting us know."

With that he hung up and continued hugging Mac with a renewed strength.

"Oh, thank God!" he exclaimed, "Our baby's still coming home with us!"

Mac was crying joyously against his shoulder and they spent the next minute, offering up a grateful prayer.

"What about Bud and Harriet?" Mac asked Harm, a few minutes later.

"He said that he couldn't discuss it with me," Harm told her, "We'll have to find out, maybe they haven't got their phone call yet…"

He was cut off by the ringing of the cell phone on the bedroom dresser.

"That'll be Webb, now," Harm told Mac and went to pick the phone up.

"Webb?" he replied after hitting the talk button, "The meeting's still on for Thursday."

"Oh, that's good, Harm," Webb said with relief.

"Mac and I need to meet with you and talk about something," Harm continued, "Do you think you could meet with us, somewhere in the hotel, probably in the afternoon, tomorrow?"

Webb agreed to do this, although he would be rushed for time to organise a plausible excuse.

"So when we all meet up on Thursday afternoon, are you going to bug any of us? Bud said you'd probably want the contacts on record. Bud, Harriet, Mac and I can meet you early to arrange…"

"No, Harm," Webb interrupted, "Bud and Harriet aren't going to be there on Thursday."

"What?" Harm asked, uncomprehending, "What do you mean? They dropped out?"

"No, Harm," Webb told him, "Bud and Harriet got their phone call a little while before you. Their meeting with the contacts won't go ahead…Sasha died this morning, in hospital. She was infected by the SARS. It just overwhelmed her body and she couldn't deal with it. She went into multiple organ failure. Two other children in her kindergarten class are in critical condition."

Harm froze, feeling his heart fall in his chest.

"This can't be happening!" he told himself, shaking his head in disbelief, "Not that poor little girl!"

Mac looked at him questioningly, from her place beside him.

"I don't think that it's a good idea that you go and see them, not for a while," Webb continued, "They aren't taking it too well. They're going to need some time…"

"How could you have put them into this, Webb?" Harm demanded, his anger flaring up, "You knew how devastated they'd be if anything like this happened!"

Mac looked on in tears as it dawned on her what must have happened. She went to walk towards the door, to rush round the Bud and Harriet's suite. Harm stopped her, grabbing her gently but firmly by the wrist and shaking his head.

"I told all four of you not to invest your feelings into this mission," Webb argued back, over the phone, "I told you not to get emotionally involved."

"These are babies that we're talking about, Webb," Harm shouted back, "There's no way that you can't get involved when their futures are at stake!"

Webb continued to argue angrily, on the other side of the phone, but Harm no longer wanted to listen to anything he had to say. He hung up and pulled a tearful Mac into his arms.

"Sasha…?" she asked, tears running from her disbelieving brown eyes.

"This morning," Harm told her, "Two other children in the class are critical. Bud and Harriet were told a little while ago."

"How are they going to cope with this?" Mac lamented, "They've already been through so much. I don't think that they would have wanted to give Sasha up either, at the end of this…I can't believe that this is happening…"

Harm held her for a while, rubbing her back comfortingly.

"They're going to need some space, right now," he told Mac, "We'll support them all we can, but they're going to need the next few days to themselves, to work through this between them."

"Sasha was sneezing, when we saw her in class on Friday," Mac spoke up, "She was sitting right next to Katya…Why do you think it took Sasha and not Katya, too?"

"I don't know," Harm told her, "By some grace of God, it missed Katya. But poor Sasha, no child so young deserves to die, never mind like that. These things seem to happen, but they just don't make sense."

Mac nodded, trying to get her head around it.

OOOO

The rest of the weekend was spent in the hotel. Harm and Mac went round to Bud and Harriet's suite on the Sunday morning, to see if they were okay.

Bud opened up the door to them.

"We're okay," he told them quietly, "Harriet's been finding it awfully hard, but at least she's sleeping, now. She took a couple of sleeping pills after her breakfast and took herself back to bed. She wasn't able to get much sleep last night…She was the same just after baby Sarah…I don't know what we're going to do next…Webb said he'd call us tonight. I'm going to speak to him about getting us an early flight out on Friday. It'll probably do us some good to get home to the boys and Harriet's Mom and Dad."

Harm and Mac nodded in sympathy.

"Bud," Harm approached, gently, "There's something that Mac and I wanted to talk to you about. I know you'll probably think that we're crazy and believe us, the last thing we'd ever want to do is hurt you and Harriet by doing this, but…"

Bud looked at them questioningly.

"…Mac and I want to keep Katya once she's handed over to us on Thursday. We don't want to hand her back to social services. We haven't talked to Webb about it yet, but…"

"Why would you think that would hurt Harriet and I?" Bud asked him, "I think it's a great idea…That's what Harriet and I had been talking about…"

A sad look crossed his face then he snapped to and looked at Harm and Mac in front of him.

"Together?" he asked, "You and the Colonel want to raise Katya together?"

Harm and Mac nodded, smiling, holding hands.

"That's great," Bud told them, smiling softly, "Harriet and I will always be so happy for you. I know what you might have been thinking, but Harriet and I will always support you guys and Katya. It may be a good way for Harriet to get past this. I'll let her know the good news when she wakes up."

Harm and Mac said a quiet goodbye then returned to their own room, to get ready for their meeting with Webb, downstairs in the bar, in a short while.

OOOO


	7. Chapter 7

OOOO

Part Seven

"You want to WHAT?" Webb screeched.

"We want to keep Katya after the handover," Harm repeated, calmly.

Webb had met them in the bar, which tended to be very quiet on a Sunday. He was dressed as a bellhop, so that he wouldn't arouse suspicion, if they were being observed. Mac had initially burst into laughter when she had seen him!

Webb carefully kept his voice down, the next time he spoke.

"I told you, didn't I, 'Don't invest your emotions in this, don't get involved,' so what do you do, you decide to adopt the case's main evidence!"

"We want to take formal steps to adopt Katya," Mac told Webb firmly, "We'll do whatever it takes and are willing to wait as long as needed. Harm and I aren't going to change our minds about it and we'll do this without your help if we must, but Webb, we thought that you might lend us your support."

Webb just huffed and looked away for a minute. When he looked back, he asked them,

"And just how are you going to raise this child? Between the both of you, I suppose? Alternate weeks?"

"Mac and I are going to raise her together," Harm told him, "We've decided that Mac, as the fluent Russian speaker, will freeze her commission and spend a year getting Katya settled and speaking English."

At Webb's accusatory look Mac quickly spoke up, "It was my decision, Webb, Harm had nothing to do with it."

Softening just a little, Mac went on, "This is something we really want, Clay, more than anything in the world…This is something that we've been needing, to knock some sense into us. We've finally realised what it is that we want to do for the rest of our lives….Harm and I, together."

Clay just looked at them, unblinking.

"We could really use your support on this," Harm added, "It's going to be really tough on our own. We thought that maybe you might have a few contacts of your own…"

Clay let out a groan as he crumbled.

"Man, oh man! Why do I let myself get suckered into these things?"

OOOO

The next week passed in a blur, as Harm and Mac set to work making plans for after Thursday. The first and most important call was placed to Trish Burnett in La Jolla.

"Hello?" Harm's Mom answered the phone cheerfully.

"Mom? Is that you?" Harm exclaimed, "You sound chipper, this morning!"

"Darling!" Trish enthused, "It's so good to hear from you! I was hoping that I'd hear from you soon. We'll all miss you, this Thanksgiving. Are you back in DC, yet?"

"No, not yet, Mom. I'm still on investigation in Russia. Listen, it's been a busy week and I've got so much to tell you…"

"On just one condition," Trish stipulated, "I want you to promise that we'll be able to see you at Christmas. I won't take no for an answer."

"Okay, Mom," Harm gave in, "I promise, you'll see me for Christmas…"

"And will you be bringing anyone with you, this year?"

"Huh, funny you should ask…I've got someone here you'd probably like to speak to."

At this, Harm passed the phone over to Mac.

"Hi, Trish?" Mac answered.

"Mac, darling!" Trish enthused, "How are you, my dear! You're on investigation in Russia, too?"

"Well, the Admiral needs someone to keep an eye on Harm doesn't he?"

Trish laughed, "How true! I appreciate you keeping an eye on my son, I never know what he's going to get up to, next."

"He's not quite that bad," Mac informed her, "He seems to be mellowing out a bit in his old age…"

"Hey!" Harm exclaimed, snatching the phone back as Mac just laughed, "That's the last time I let you speak to my Mother."

When Harm turned back to speak to his Mother, she pre-empted him.

"So that's why you sound so happy!" she commented, "I always said you two were meant for each other."

Harm surprised her with his answer.

"You always did know me well, Mom."

Trish gasped.

"At last! You finally came to your senses, didn't you?"

"Uh-huh," Harm grinned, looking to where Mac was smiling at him.

"About time, Harmon James Rabb. Thank goodness! I may get grandchildren, yet."

"Yeah, about that, Mom, that's kind of why we called…."

OOOO

Their second phone call was placed to their CO. He answered on the second ring.

"Hello?"

"Admiral, Sir. It's Harm."

"Hey there, son. How are you and Mac getting on?"

"Things are okay with us, but not quite so with Bud and Harriet."

Briefly, Harm explained about the situation.

"Christ!" AJ swore, "Those poor things! That really must have hit them hard. I'll kill Clayton Webb, the next time I see him! Wait, scratch that…I'll ream him a new one, THEN I'll kill him. So the mission is going ahead? You and the Colonel will still be taking part?"

"Yes, Sir."

"Good, good…I want the two of you to be careful. Remember, this is one of Webb's little heists. They have a tendency of going bad. How are the two of you doing? Are you managing okay?"

"That's kind of why we were calling you, Sir. Our part of the plans aren't bad, not by any stretch of the imagination. But they aren't going according to Webb's ideas…."

"Uh-huh, and what did he have to say about it?"

"He didn't particularly like it, especially as he had warned us about the emotional nature of the case in the beginning. But we managed to talk him around. He's still not particularly liking it, but I think it's just because it's because he's still carrying a bit of a torch for Mac…"

"This isn't what I think it is, is it?" AJ spoke up, "Are we going to need to have a discussion when you both get back? A discussion about a change in the relationship between yourself and the Colonel?"

Harm was flabbergasted that his CO had managed to figure it out so fast.

AJ quickly added, "I figured this might happen. It was only a matter of time. Nice to see that you finally got your head out of your six, son."

Harm just laughed loudly, "Indeed, Sir."

"We'll have that talk when you both get back, I'm sure we'll work something out to suit you both."

"About us discussing this when we get back…" Harm broached, cautiously, "That's why Mac and I called, Sir. It looks like we may be caught up in Russia longer than we'd previously anticipated…."

OOOO

Thursday dawned cold and rainy as Harm and Mac got ready to complete their mission. Mac's stomach kept turning sommersaults and she decided against breakfast or lunch, that day.

"Mac, are you sure you don't want anything?" Harm persisted.

"All I really need at this moment is our baby," Mac insisted, "Let's just go. Webb should be there, setting everything up. He'll want to talk to us, before this all goes down."

"Mac," Harm slowed her, grabbing her by the shoulders, looking her in the eye, "Don't worry about this. It's all going to be fine, we'll be bringing her home with us by four. This is the start of the rest of our lives together, just calm down and go with the flow. It'll be fine, I promise."

"I'm sorry," Mac apologised, "I guess I'm just worried…Look at how we got our hopes up, both us and Bud and Harriet…Now they're having to cope with losing another child…"

"There's no need to worry," Harm insisted, "That was a tragedy, a freak tragedy. It happened to people never deserve any of the bad things that happen to them, but it was beyond anybody's control."

"But this is Webb we're talking about," Mac pointed out, "His missions don't exactly have the best track record; the Nigerian Embassy, Paraguay."

"But neither do we," Harm pointed out too, "Flying in the Appalachians, both trips to Russia, the Watertown, Afghanistan."

"Those situations were already screwed when we arrived," Mac refuted.

"And this isn't, so we won't have anything to worry about. I'm sure that Webb has got everything in hand," Harm finished and Mac finally nodded.

"Yeah, okay, point taken."

"C'mon, let's get going," Harm encouraged, "Our baby's waiting."

They arrived at the park and sat down on the bench that had been designated the meeting point.

Webb came over to them with last minute preparations, a few minutes later, taking a seat beside them, dressed to blend in with the crowd.

"Everything's set," he told them, "Everyone's in place. Thing's should go fine. When your contacts arrive, hand them the money in this bag and wait until they hand the child over to you before you give us the signal to intervene and bust the exchange."

As he spoke, he fixed bugging devices under their jackets.

"And if they check us for bugs?"

"They won't, trust me. These aren't technology savvy villains. They're probably just desperate to get the money."

"I hope you're right, Webb," Harm told him, "They'll have a little girl at their mercy, if things go sour…"

"Don't worry, everything will go like clockwork," Webb maintained, "If anything un-towards happens, then I've got snipers in the trees."

At this, he indicated to the woods bordering the park.

"We'll have them down in a second."

However, Webb wasn't counting on the crowds that forced their way into the park, at that time of day. By quarter to three, once schools were out for the day and business establishments emptied as part of the lunchtime slump, the traffic through the park was thronging. Harm and Mac sat nervously, scanning the crowd for any sign of their contacts. By five-past three, they were fidgeting, nervously, after a further six minutes and twenty seconds, Mac began to despair.

"Something's happened," she fretted to herself, "Why aren't they here yet?"

Just then, one of their contacts approached them from behind, tapping Harm on the back.

As they both jumped and turned round, cautiously, the man commented, "It's a nice day for a stroll in the park, isn't it?"

He quickly spoke into the radio scanner receiver clipped to his sleeve, "We have contact, doctor."

Webb's earlier words circled through Harm's head.

"Just put the bag down on the ground," the man instructed them, taking a seat beside them.

They were joined by Sergei, whom they had never even noticed coming. The man seemed adept at slinking effortlessly through the crowd.

"Is Katya okay?" Mac asked him urgently, "She's still not showing symptoms, is she?"

"She is fine," Sergei assured her, "We were worried on Friday night, because she started wheezing, not too long after the illness was diagnosed in the other children. But she remained fever-free and doctors are very certain that it was just a twenty-four hour bug."

Inconspicuously and coolly, the man beside them on the bench beside them reached down and picked up the bag of money, reaching inside to quickly count it. Sergei suddenly beckoned at Harm and Mac to stand up. They did so, feeling panic rise in their throats, but trying to remain cool. Sergei quickly patted Harm down, obviously just making sure that he didn't have a weapon on him. He did the same with Mac, before turning to the man counting the money.

"It's all here," the man reported, "Shall I contact the doctor?"

Sergei nodded and the man did so.

"Looks like everything is in order, Mr and Mrs. Anderson. Soon you shall be on your way home with your daughter. Dr. Zebrovnik is just on his way here with Ekaterina."

At that second, Harm noticed a glint of light from the direction of the woods and mentally cursed.

'Shit!'

The glinting was from the lens of a sight, on the gun of one of Webb's marksmen. Harm hoped to God that neither Sergei nor the other contact noticed it. Sergei continued talking and Harm saw Mac catch sight of the glinting, out of the corner of her eye. Despite her cool exterior, Harm knew that her heart was probably going into freefall, just like his was.

A minute passed and neither man had noticed the glinting, although it was getting much worse, now. After a second, Harm spotted Dr. Zebrovnik's thin figure through the crowd, pulling a little figure with him by the hand.

Mac caught sight of them through the crowd just a second after Harm. Both jumped as the man on the bench leapt up and shouted out, obviously having twigged about the blinking light in the trees.

"It's a set-up!" he screamed at Sergei and the doctor.

"No!" Harm and Mac both jumped up from the bench, starting towards where the doctor was standing with Katya. Sergei and his henchman had a head start on them and though he had stopped in his tracks, Dr. Zebrovnik hadn't caught up on what was going on, yet.

Members of the crowd jumped into action, obviously part of Webb's task-force, but within a millisecond, Zebrovnik had caught up on what was happening and he had scooped Katya up, holding her to him as he reached into his inner jacket pocket and pulled out a small revolver. More CIA agents now emerged from the trees around the park, surrounding Zebrovnik and his men.

"Let me go!" he shouted at them threateningly, "I have a gun."

When nobody seemed to do anything, he reached up and pulled down the hood of the jacket obscuring most of his child-hostage's face. Katya's scared little face came into view and Harm and Mac found themselves pushing closer, in an effort to negotiate with Zebrovnik.

"I mean it!" the doctor continued to screech, insanely, "I will do anything it takes. I will not lose sleep over the loss of this child!"

At this, he lifted the revolver up and pressed it firmly against the child's head, making her scream. She was quiet for a second as she took a deep breath and then began to sob loudly, breathing rapidly and frantically.

"Back off," Mac shouted, then turned to Webb, to her right, "I said back off. That is my child he is holding. Back off, now!"

All of the agents hesitantly took a few steps back, but didn't lower their guns. Harm and Mac stayed where they were, as Harm began to contemplate just how they were going to negotiate with this maniac.

Zebrovnik was circling wildly, trying to keep an eye on all of the agents surrounding him. Little Katya was swinging around in his arms, still crying hysterically.

"Don't cry, baby," Mac spoke up, in Russian, "Mamma's coming to get you."

The little girl looked to her new Mother with teary eyes.

"Mamma!" she screamed, lifting her arms out, "Mamma!"

"Alright, baby, I know," Mac's heart broke as she tried to comfort her, "Mamma's coming for you just now."

"You will not get this child," Zebrovnik screamed at Mac, "Send me to jail and I'll make sure that you never see her again. Your only hope is if you let me go…Back off now and you can have her, but if not, I will not hesitate to blow her brains out, right here, in front of all these people."

Funnily enough, there were still many people around the park, despite the appearance of all of the armed CIA agents and the hostage situation. This really was a sick version of reality TV.

"Mamma! I want Mamma!" Katya continued to cry, then looked to Harm, "Papa! Help me!"

"We're coming, sweetheart," Mac told the child again, in Russian, "Mamma and Papa will get you. Don't cry baby, Mamma will get you..."

Harm ached to do something, but he knew the threat to Katya was too great.

"Webb," he shouted out, "I want your men to move back, now!"

"But Rabb…" Webb began to protest.

"NOW!" Harm cut him off, "He has a gun pointed at my baby's head! DO NOT antagonise him!"

Webb reluctantly gave the order and his people pulled back.

"Very smart," Zebrovnik complimented, "You are making the right decision. I appreciate your trust in me…"

"That was for my child, not you, you sick bastard," Harm spat at the man, "Now do as you want and just let Katya go."

"You'll get your child once I'm away, safely…"

"That's not what you said!" Harm shouted, "Let her go, then you can go."

"Absolutely not! What sort of idiot do you take me for? Katya here is my pint-sized insurance policy. You'll get her back when I'm safely away and not a moment sooner."

With this, all three men began to shuffle their way towards the park entrance, with Katya still being held at gunpoint, between Zebrovnik and the rifles.

"Mamma!" she screamed hysterically, kicking with all her strength, "Mamma! Mamma!"

"Don't cry baby!" Mac tried to soothe her, really starting to cry herself, now. She continued trying to get Katya to keep still, because there was a gun pointed at her, "Keep still! Mamma will come and get you, just try to be brave for now."

Harm and Mac watched in despair as the gunmen retreated with their daughter. They followed at a distance, with the CIA agents beside them. They lost sight of the men through the crowds for a second and that was all it took for the men to break away. They ran towards their car in the car park at the park's entrance, quickly climbing inside with the hysterical, screaming child and making their getaway with a screeching of tires and blast exhaust fumes. Where they were just breaking through the last of the crowds, Harm and Mac ran to Webb's car and they quickly sped away in pursuit.

OOOO

Webb put his foot down hard on the accelerator. He was trying his best to catch up to the hostage vehicle, but all of the traffic around him was not making it easy. Just then, they all heard the scream of sirens behind them and Mac looked back to see Russian police cars pull in behind them.

"Shit! Don't tell me…" Clay cursed vehemently, but quickly cut off, as the police cars overtook them and began to accelerate, now effectively clearing a path in front of them.

"Oh, at last!" Harm exclaimed in relief.

Maybe now they'd make some progress in catching up with the Zebrovnik's car. Minutes passed as they sped down the highway, then the walkie-talkie clipped inside Webb's jacket burst to life.

"Agent Webb…come in."

"Yeah, this is Webb," Clay spoke up, grabbing the walkie-talkie and keeping his attention fixed on the road in front of them.

"I can see smoke up ahead, Agent Webb. How shall we proceed?"

Harm and Mac's hearts both jumped into their throats. Surely not… Had Zebrovnik's car crashed?

"Pull up to the site where the smoke is coming from, be ready to protect the perimeter of the crash scene. I've got the child's parents here with me. I'll approach the scene myself."

"No, Webb…" Harm protested, "We want to make sure that Katya's okay…"

However, he was cut off, as the patrol car in front of them put on his brakes and slowed down, moving out into the outside lane. After a brief pause, he pulled onto the hard shoulder and came to a stop. Clay followed immediately behind him and before he was able to do anything, Harm and Mac bolted from the car.

"Mac, Rabb! Wait," Clay shouted, to no avail.

The first thing that Harm and Mac were aware of, they smelled burning petrol in the air. Harm looked up ahead of them to see skid-marks on the road. He and Mac immediately ran towards the area beside the road where most of the damage had been done to the surrounding shrubbery.

A police officer jumped out of his car, behind them.

"Be careful, Ma'am, Sir," he warned them, his Russian accent thick in the cold air, "The car skidded on black ice."

"The car went down the embankment?" Harm demanded, to which the officer nodded.

Harm and Mac carefully made their way to where the skid-marks left the hard shoulder and went down the embankment. By now, Webb had caught up with them, warning them, "Just be careful. You're no use to Katya if we're lifting you out on a stretcher."

Harm ignored him and took Mac's arm as they began to slide, carefully down the embankment. A huge amount of devastation and upheaval had been left in the wake of the car and by the damage patterns, Webb could tell that it had begun to roll, as they got a bit further down.

Suddenly, they began to see a large amount of smoke up ahead of them and Clay grabbed Harm and Mac with a hand on each of their shoulders.

"Stop," he told them, "Let the officer check it out, first. The car could be on fire."

"No," Harm and Mac protested, at the same time, but another pair of police officers joined them and helped Webb restrain them from going any further. The first police officer carried on alone, but he had hardly gone far when they were all blown back to the ground by the force of a huge, fiery explosion, as the car's gas-tank caught fire.

"NO!" Mac screamed as she hauled herself up to sitting and both she and Harm scrambled to their feet, running past the police officers on the ground and closer to the car.

Webb managed to catch up to them as the car came into sight and Mac screamed at the sight of the flames engulfing and smoke pouring from the car, "Katya!"

Harm tried to rush to the car, but the flames beat him back feet from it.

The car was lying on its roof and was badly bashed up, he could see, despite all of the smoke.

"Good God!" he thought to himself, "Could anyone really have survived that?"

Had they just unwittingly sent their baby to her death?

OOOO

AN: Sorry to end on such a cliffhanger. I'll post again tomorrow, so you don't have to wait a whole summer to find out how this one ends!


	8. Chapter 8

Okay, I'm sorry about the torturous wait...That really wasn't in the holiday spirit, was it? My sincerest apologies. Hopefully this will make up for it...

OOOO

Part Eight

Mac continued to scream incoherently behind him as Harm made his way back to her and Webb. She immediately tried to push her way past him and to the car, but he pulled her towards him, holding her hard.

"No, Mac, there's no way anyone is still alive in there…"

"No," Mac sobbed, her chest heaving, "Katya…My baby!"

"I'm so sorry, Mac…" Clay told her softly, "Harm's right…"

Mac screamed again, loudly, "Oh, God…Katya!"

Harm could only hold her as she sobbed, convulsively.

Just then, they were stopped in their tracks by a distant voice.

"Mamma?"

Harm, Mac and Webb's heads spun around to the underbrush to their right, to see a purple-cloaked figure toddling to them.

"Papa? Mamma?" little Katya asked them, having heard Mac shouting her name. She had been thrown from the car as it rolled down the embankment and had come to a stop about twenty yards from where the car now lay, burning.

"Katya!" Mac exclaimed, still sobbing, this time with relief and set off running, Harm close behind her.

"Oh, Katya," Mac began to cry again as she scooped the little girl up into her arms, pulling back the hood on the girl's thick coat to kiss the child's face, "My baby…Mamma's got you, Mamma's got you…"

Harm enveloped them both in his arms, ducking his head down to kiss and rest on the top of the child's head.

"Oh, thank God…Thank God," he exclaimed, thankfully, visually surveying the child for injuries, "I've never been so scared in my life. Are you okay, baby? Do you hurt anywhere?"

Mac translated this into Russian and the little girl told her plaintively, "Head hurts…"

"Did you bump it when you fell out of the car?" Mac asked her, rubbing gently where the child indicated.

"No," Katya told them, pouting, "Doctor bump my head…on the car… he's a bad man!"

Mac let out a long sigh of relief, telling Harm and Webb, "The doctor bumped her head on the car, as he was pushing her in."

Just then, there was the sound of a fire engine and an ambulance pulling up.

"We'd better get her checked out, just in case. A fireman ran down the embankment past them to survey the situation of the car, as the four of them made their way up to the waiting ambulance. Katya began to cry again as a paramedic tried to take her from Mac.

"Don't cry, darling," Mac comforted her, trying to unhook Katya's arms from around her neck, "Mamma and Papa are going to come with you. The doctors just want to make sure that you aren't hurt."

She and Harm climbed into the ambulance behind the paramedic carrying Katya and stayed on hand to calm the upset child and give the medics information about what had happened.

"We think that she was thrown out of the car, when it rolled down the embankment," Mac explained to the woman attending Katya, "She probably wasn't belted into the car…"

"It is a good thing that she had this coat on," The medic commented, indicating the thick purple quilted coat laying on the stretcher, "She could have been hurt a lot worse, if it had not been there to pad and protect her."

The coat was torn extensively in places and there was glass embedded in the outside of it.

"Has she been complaining of any pain?"

"She said her head hurts," Mac reported, "She said it got knocked on the roof of the car as she was being pushed in, when the abductors escaped with her."

"I think that we should take her to St. Petersburg, just in case," the medic reported, "It would be wise to see a doctor and rule out any concussion or other kind of head injury."

Mac nodded, and turned her attention back to Katya. She sat down on the side of the stretcher and Katya scrambled to her.

"What a big, brave girl my baby is," she cooed softly as Katya curled up in her arms, tucking her face into the side of Mac's neck, "You've been so brave today."

Harm crossed over to them both and rubbed Katya's back, comfortingly.

"Mamma and Papa are so glad to have you back," Mac continued, "We're going to go to the hospital now, so that we can check that you're alright, then we'll all go home to the hotel. Mamma and Papa won't leave you again, I promise."

The little girl was asleep before the ambulance even pulled away, snuggled into Mac's arms, with Harm rubbing her back and stroking her hair, softly.

OOOO

A few hours later, they were in a small hospital room, waiting for a doctor to come and see them. Webb had gone to give Bud and Harriet a phone call, to let them know that everything was all right.

The doctor came in to see Katya at about 1845, introducing himself to Harm and Mac.

"Good evening, Commander, Colonel…This is your daughter, Ekaterina?"

"Katya is a ward of the state," Mac told him, "But we will be taking formal steps to adopt her."

"And Katya was thrown from a car?"

"Yes, she was…" Harm confirmed.

"There have been reporters all over the hospital," the doctor told them, as he leaned over to the bed to examine Katya, who was still sleeping, lying on her tummy, "I have to keep getting security staff to eject them from the hospital. Seems we've got a little celebrity in our midst."

He pressed a stethoscope to Katya's back, underneath the covers and listened to her heartbeat.

"Fine…could you please help me get her turned over onto her back, so I can check her eyes?"

Mac turned Katya over, the little girl only stirring minimally as the doctor pulled back her eyelids, gently and shone a penlight into her eyes.

"Hmm," he pondered, "I'm not sure that her pupils are responding as well as they should be…Have either of you noticed her having trouble tracking objects with her eyes?"

Harm and Mac both shook their heads, "Not that we've seen…But she didn't quite seem to be alert enough…"

"She hasn't seemed confused, at all?"

"Yes, a bit, but she was pretty shaken up," Mac justified.

"I see…has she complained of much pain? Has she shown aversion to bright lights, or squinted at all?"

"No," Harm replied, "She said her head was sore where it had been bumped, but it didn't seem to be causing her much pain."

"Can you show me the bump on her head that was giving her the pain?" the doctor requested.

Mac showed him, parting the child's hair where Katya had shown her, earlier.

"Yes," the doctor pondered, "The bump does not seem to be too big or too bruised. Still, I'd like to keep her overnight, if I may, just to run a couple of tests tonight and tomorrow, just to be sure."

Harm and Mac both nodded in consent and a nurse entered the room, who had been in to take a blood sample and insert an IV drip into the back of Katya's hand, soon after they had arrived at the hospital.

"Doctor," she reported to the man, "The little girl's blood tests are back from the lab."

The doctor took the notes from her and read over them for a second.

"Ah!" he noted aloud then turned to Harm and Mac, "I think I know why Katya's pupils seem to be a bit sluggish. Her blood tests indicate that there is a tranquilliser in her system…Did she seem a bit disoriented, when you first saw her today?"

"We didn't see her face," Mac told him, "She was wearing a coat with her hood up…But she did seem to take a minute to notice that Harm and I were there…"

"That is because of the tranquilliser," the doctor told them, "They must have sedated her for the car journey. Right, well I think we should still run those tests on Katya, just to make sure, then the three of you will be able to go home sometime tomorrow afternoon."

"Thank you, doctor," Harm and Mac thanked him, then he and the nurse disappeared to continue with their rounds. Mac went back to sit on the side of the bed.

"Mac?" Harm asked her, "Do you want to go and get something to eat? You haven't had anything all day."

"No," Mac dismissed, "I'm fine."

"Really, I can stay here with Katya while you go…"

"No, I just want to stay here with her," Mac told him and let out a sigh, "Goodness, what a day! We came so close to losing her, Harm…"

"But we didn't," Harm stopped her, "She's fine and that's all that matters. We're going to get this adoption pushed through, with Webb's help and then we'll go home and settle back in."

Mac nodded, and leaned down to Katya, lifting the child and gathering her up in her arms. The little girl stirred, mumbling, softly, "Mamma…"

"It's all right…Mamma's right here, baby," Mac soothed her, kissing her softly, and nuzzling her face.

Harm joined them on the bed and put an arm around Mac, holding her and Katya close. He stroked Katya's fine, baby-soft hair and the little girl turned her attention to him.

"Papa…" she requested, in Russian, "Kiss-kiss…"

"She wants a kiss," Mac translated to him, smiling as Harm gladly took the child into his arms, careful of the IV drip in her hand.

"There's my princess," Harm told the little girl, kissing her softly on the nose and cheeks, "Daddy's so happy to have his baby-girl back."

Mac translated this into Russian for Katya and the child wriggled higher in his arms, tucking her face into his neck.

She mumbled something that Harm and Mac did not hear.

"What did she say?" Harm asked Mac, who shook her head in reply.

"I don't know, turn her this way a bit."

Harm did so and Mac gently stroked Katya's cheek.

"What did you say, Sweetheart? Mamma and Papa didn't hear you."

"Sasha, Mamma…want Sasha…"

Mac looked at her daughter with sadness for a second.

"I know you do, baby…"

"Want Sasha…Mamma, want Sasha!" Katya continued to get worked up, beginning to cry.

Hearing the noise, one of the nurses came in to see if everything was all right.

"She's just a little upset," Mac told her, in Russian, "She's missing her friend."

The nurse just nodded and went to check, Katya's IV drip.

"Mamma, please…Want Sasha!" Katya continued to cry plaintively.

Harm and Mac did their best to calm her, but it looked as if she had well and truly started off.

The nurse finished checking Katya's chart and was about to leave the room, but turned to tell Mac something, first.

"I'm sorry the child is so upset, but it really is out of the question for her to visit her little friend, tonight."

"No," Mac started to explain to her, "The child is not here in the hospital…"

"You mean Sasha?" The nurse clarified, "The little girl with whom Katya was admitted on Friday night? She is down the hall, but will be fast asleep by now…"

Mac stared at her, agog for a minute.

"You mean Sashenka? A little girl with short blond hair?"

When the nurse nodded, Mac stammered, "But we were told that she had died. They said she had the SARS…"

"No," the nurse reported, "Both Sahsa and Katya were admitted only with a twenty-four hour bug. Sasha was dehydrated from the sickness, so she has remained in the hospital. But she is fine and will be released tomorrow."

"Sasha didn't die on Saturday morning?" Mac continued, disbelieving.

"No," the nurse assured her, "No female children died at all, over the weekend. I was here the entire time…"

"What is it, Mac?" asked Harm, totally not understanding the rapid dialogue going on in Russian.

"Go and phone Bud and Harriet, Harm, quick!" Mac told him, "Tell them to get down here…"

OOOO


	9. Chapter 9

AN: A big thank you goes toreaders for the wonderful reviews they posted. I enjoyed reading them all!

OOOO

Part Nine

Six weeks later…

As the crowd made it's way out of the airport gate, on Christmas Eve, Harm and Mac strained to see any sign of their family and friends. Eventually Harm spotted the tall Admiral, then his Step-Dad, Frank.

"There they are," he told Mac, as he began to wave.

Mac also caught sight of them and they began to move forward through the crowd.

"Hello there!" Harm shouted and the group picked him out of the crush of people around them. Harm's Mom, Trish was the first one over to them and was greeted with a big hug from Harm and from Mac.

"Oh darlings!" she exclaimed, "It's so good to see you both again, at last! And on Christmas Eve, too."

"Sorry that Mac and I didn't make it back home in time," Harm apologised, "Things have been taking a lot longer than planned, even with Clayton Webb's help."

"That's alright, dear," Trish told him, "It was no problem bringing Christmas to you. I'm just so desperate to see my new Granddaughter."

"She's at home, right now," Mac told her, "We didn't want to bring her out into this sort of weather, because she's only just getting over her first winter cold. Bud and Harriet are back home, watching her and Sasha."

They were joined by Frank, AJ and his fiancée, Harriet's Mom and Dad with baby James and little AJ, and Bud's brother, Mikey.

After greetings and hugs had been exchanged, Harm and Mac showed them all out to the cars they had parked outside. Since there would be so many of them, Bud and Harriet had lent them their car as well, to accommodate everyone. Everyone gasped as they stepped out of the airport building and into the snow outside. They quickly put on the jumpers, coats and scarves that they had brought with them, Harriet's Mom and Dad bundling baby Jimmy up into another warm blanket. Once they had all bundled into the two cars, Harm and Mac started up the cars and pulled out of the airport car park and onto the highway. Their trip from the airport was quite a long one, but was passed quickly by telling stories between themselves, about what had been going on over the past few weeks. Once the cars finally pulled into the driveway of the apartment complex that they had rented, Harm and Mac started unloading the luggage in the trunks and on the roof racks of the cars.

"Here we are," Harm told them, "Home sweet home, at least for the next few weeks."

"It's lovely," AJ commented, "Webb told me that he'd helped you guys get into this place."

"We really couldn't have done so much over the past few weeks, if it wasn't for Clay," Mac told him, "Despite the delay with the paperwork, we really are lucky. Some couples wait months to get their paperwork through. Webb's has been leaning on his contacts at the social services and the courthouse, getting them to put a hurry on things."

"Yeah," Harm added, "He really has been so much help."

"Does that mean that I'm to disregard the punch on the nose that I was planning to give him?" AJ asked, laughing.

"Come on AJ," Meredith told him, "It is Christmas. Don't be such a grump."

"Okay then," AJ relented, "Seeing as it's Christmas."

As a group, they hauled the luggage into the house and started pulling off all of their thick winter clothing.

Trish looked down the stairs and into the spacious, tastefully decorated living room.

"What a lovely place," She commented.

"Come this way, everyone," Harm told the crowd, "I'd like to show you around our little home here."

He took them downstairs and into the living room, where Harriet stood up from the sofa to greet everyone.

"Where are Bud and the girls?" Mac asked her, not hearing any signs of laughter from upstairs.

"They're out in the yard, playing in the snow," Harriet told her, "The girls couldn't wait for you to get back, they saw that it had stopped snowing and wanted to go out and play. We were expecting you to be longer getting home."

Mac went to the sliding doors and pulled aside the full-length blinds, looking out into the yard. Bud was slowly and carefully pulling the girls around through the snow on a sled and Mac saw that they were halfway through building a snowman. Everyone gathered around behind her, to look out of the windows.

Bud noticed them first and leaned over to speak to the children, then they immediately looked up, but neither of them saw anything, their vision completely obscured by the fur trim on the hoods of their thick snowsuits. They both tried unsuccessfully to pull their snowsuit hoods down, hampered by the thick gloves on their hands and the thick padded sleeves of their suits.

"Look, AJ," Harriet lifted her eldest son up into her arms and pointed to the little figure sitting on the front of the sled, "That's your new little sister, Sasha."

Little AJ just smiled, he'd been bombarding his grandparents with endless questions about his new little sister, all the way over on the plane.

By now, in the yard, Bud had leaned over to undo the hood on Katya's suit, pulling it down so that she could see her Mom and Dad with all of the family that they had brought home from the airport. The little girl's face lit up as she saw them and she jumped up from the sled and began to run unsteadily through the snow to the house.

"Mommadaddy!" she cried, a conglomeration of the first English words she had learned after Harm and Mac had brought her home with them from the hospital.

Bud undid the hood on his own daughter's suit and lifted her off the sled and placed her on her feet, telling her, "Look, there's Mommy. Run and see her."

The little girl understood enough of his words to grasp what he meant; 'Mommy', 'run' and 'see.'

She set off behind Katya, both running fast and haphazardly through the snow, their arms out wide, to help them keep their balance. Katya ran into Mac's arms and squealed with laughter as she was hugged, then passed to Harm, who hugged her, then threw her into the air and caught her again. Sasha ran to Harriet and settled comfortably onto Harriet's left hip, little AJ occupying the other one.

"Has my princess been playing in the snow?" Harm asked his daughter as his family around him watched on, smiling.

Katya nodded to him, once Mac explained his words again, in Russian.

Harm passed Katya to Mac, and Mac turned her around, so that all of the visitors could get a good look at her. At the front of the queue were Trish and Frank.

"Katya," Mac told her daughter, in Russian, "All of these people came here today just to see you and Sasha. They're your family. This is your Grandma Trish and your Grandpa Frank."

The little girl beamed happily as Trish took her from Mac and planted a bunch of kisses across her face.

"Look Grandpa," she told Frank, "What a little darling she is. My beautiful, beautiful Granddaughter!"

"She's a little beauty, all right," Frank agreed, smiling as Katya beamed up at him, giggling infectiously, "I think we've hit the jackpot with this little one, Trish!"

Bud and Harriet were now introducing Sasha to equally delighted Grandparents.

Harriet held little AJ and Bud held baby James as they watched on. The little boy in Harriet's arms seemed to be delighted, not caring that he would have to share his Grandparents with another sibling, now.

As he explained to his Mom, later, 'Now he had a sister that he could play with and who wouldn't just cry all of the time, like Jimmy did.'

Both girls were swiftly passed around the group, and introduced to their new Uncle AJ, Aunt Meredith, Uncle Mikey and cousins/brothers AJ and Jimmy, for Katya and Sasha, respectively.

As they were set down onto the thick carpet on the floor, to play with AJ, while all of the other adults went to go and get settled into their rooms, Bud leaned over from his place on the couch and explained to his son, "You're going to have to play easy with Sasha and Katya, for now, AJ. They don't know how to speak English, so you'll have to show them how to play with all of your toys."

Little AJ nodded reverently, then went over to grab his backpack, proceeding to unpack all of the toys and books that he had packed inside.

He lifted out figurine after figurine of dinosaurs and toy car after toy car. Sasha and Katya just watched him, eyeing each toy with large eyes as it was placed on the carpet in front of them. AJ began to show them how he could get his t-rex to flip the car and eat all of the people inside, or how he could get his tank to shoot the t-rex down, when he noticed the girls were just looking at him blankly.

"Daddy," he asked as he went over to Bud on the sofa, "Katya and Sasha aren't playing."

"You'll have to show them how, AJ," Bud told his son, "In the orphanage, Katya and Sasha didn't have many toys, so they don't know quite how it works. Give them a toy each and show them what they're to do with them. Maybe they don't think that they can touch the toys, because they're yours. Let them know it's okay for them to play with them, too."

AJ went back over and did as his Dad had instructed, holding out a toy to each of the girls, nodding when they unsurely went to go and take it from him.

By the time that everyone else came back downstairs, the three of them were playing away, happily.

Mac sat down beside Katya and fixed the little girl's ponytail, which had been knocked askew by the hood of her snowsuit. This was all that Mac had ever wanted, to sit playing with her own little girl's hair.

"What beautiful hair she has," Trish exclaimed, "Couldn't you just comb it all day long!"

Mac nodded, smiling.

"I can remember my own Mom doing this, when I was very little."

"Harm would never sit still long enough for me to brush his hair," Trish continued, "He always came home looking like he'd been dragged through a hedge backwards!

I can foresee lots of trips to D.C., Frank."

"Definitely," Frank agreed, "And lots and lots of presents!"

Katya and Sasha looked up from where they were playing.

"Pwesents," Katya pronounced, in English, obviously enamoured with the word.

"That's your fault!" Mac shot an accusatory look at Harm, "You're the one who's been giving her ideas!"

"Hey," Harm protested, "Every child needs to hear 'The Night Before Christmas,' at least a few times before Christmas Day."

"I'm pretty sure the word 'presents' isn't actually mentioned in it, though," Mac pointed out, "Looks like you've been embellishing!"

Harm just smiled that smile that always got him out of hot water and Mac couldn't resist smiling back at him, although she was trying to be serious.

"There's no need for you to spoil her, Harm," Trish spoke up, "Frank and I will do that sufficiently between the two of us. That's our job as Grandparents."

Everyone laughed and Harriet's parents agreed with her.

OOOO

That night, Harm and Mac were in the upstairs bathroom, bathing Katya before they put her to bed for the night. Harriet and Bud were putting their children to sleep, in a big bed in the children's room. Usually, Katya and Sasha shared the bed, but seeing as so many visitors had come to stay, AJ and Sasha were sharing the bed tonight, with baby James in a cot in the corner of the room and Katya was sleeping with Harm and Mac. AJ and Meredith were staying in one of the spare rooms, Harriet's parents in another, while Bud and Harriet took the fold out sofa downstairs and Mikey bedded down in a sleeping bag on the carpet.

"Momma? Will we be going home, soon?" AJ spoke up, as his parents went to leave the room.

"We're not sure yet, honey," Harriet told him truthfully, "Why? Do you not like it here?"

"It's not that," AJ told them, "I just want to show Sasha to all of my friends. Freddy's Mom had his baby sister nearly a year ago and Timothy's little sister is only a year younger than him."

"Did you tell them that you already have one sister?" Bud asked his son.

"Mm-hmm," AJ replied, "I told them that God wanted her back after she was born, so she went to heaven to live with Him."

"That's right," Harriet told him, "When we get back home, once the adoption is finalised, we can take Sasha to visit her little sister Sarah at Arlington."

At this, Harriet turned to look at Sasha, who was listening to her carefully.

"Would you like to go and see Sarah, honey? Would you like to see your little sister?"

Sasha looked to AJ, who smiled and nodded in encouragement.

She smiled and nodded herself.

Harriet and Bud smiled and turned out the light.

"Night-night, my babies," Harriet told them softly.

"Night, Mommy," they both replied, tiredly, "Night Daddy."

"Night kids," Bud smiled and closed the door over.

OOOO


	10. Chapter 10

OOOO

Part Ten

Harm and Mac were sitting on the floor beside the bathtub, watching Katya splash about in the water with a set of yellow plastic, floaty ducks.

"Are we having fun in here?" Trish popped her head around the door, "May Frank and I come in?"

"Of course you can. Come on in," Mac told them, "Grandparents are always welcome!"

"Hi sweetie-pie!" Trish greeted Katya, reaching over to stroke Katya's cheek, "Are you making big splashes in here?"

"Gamma!" Katya exclaimed, happily.

"All right," Trish nodded, "'Gamma' it is."

"What is Grandad Frank called, Katya?" Harm asked his daughter.

"Gampa!" Katya shouted, loudly, giggling.

"I think I can live with that!" Frank decreed, happily and everyone laughed.

"Right," Mac announced, "I think that it's time for you to get dried off and put to bed, young lady."

She lifted Katya out of the tub and into a towel. She allowed Katya to give everyone goodnight kisses, before she carried the girl into hers and Harm's bedroom, to get her dried off and into her pyjamas.

"Listen, Harm," Frank stopped Harm, as he was getting up, "I really appreciate you letting me be a part of the family…"

"Frank," Harm stopped him, "You always have been. I'm sorry I didn't appreciate you more while I was growing up. You've always been there for me and I can't think of anyone better to help guide my child as she grows up…"

"I'm sure that your Father would be an even better Grandfather for her, if he was still here," Frank assured Harm, "He was a great man and the last thing I've ever wanted to do is take his place."

"I know Frank," Harm replied, "I know. But there's no reason why Katya can't have three Granddads. Her other two just aren't around, anymore."

"I'll do my best for her," Frank promised Harm, "Trish and I will dote on this child…"

Trish smiled and went to hug her husband and her son.

"…plus any more that you might want to send our way," she added.

"Hold your horses, Mom," Harm joked, "Let Mac and I get used to the one, first!"

OOOO

That night, Harm and Mac climbed into bed beside Katya and the child stirred, cuddling into Mac.

"Mamma," she muttered, sleepily.

"Night-night, baby," Mac told her, kissing her forehead.

"Night angel," Harm told his daughter, "Momma and Daddy will see you in the morning."

"Ni'Daddy," Katya told him and drifted back off to sleep.

Harm and Mac stayed awake, staring at their beautiful daughter, curled up between them. They had watched her sleep nearly every night since they had brought her home from the hospital and neither could remember ever being so happy. Although they had both heard stories about what it was like to have your own children, neither Harm nor Mac could ever imagine feeling any more love for their child than they did right now. Katya without a doubt made their family and Harm and Mac would always look upon her as their own child.

They both stared at each other in mutual amazement then Harm spoke up.

"It's unbelievable, isn't?"

Mac nodded, "I can't imagine ever living any differently to how we are living, right now. It just feels so right."

Harm nodded in agreement.

"I love being a Dad," he told Mac, "And I love you, Sarah, more than anything in the world."

"I love you too, Harm," Mac replied, "Thank you for not listening to what I said, when we were leaving Paraguay."

"I never thought I'd hear you thanking me for not listening to what you told me," Harm laughed, "But I could never have ignored what I felt for you. Never."

"I think it was just a matter of time before I gave in, too," Mac told him, "It just took Katya to bring me to my senses."

She looked down at the little girl again and stroked her baby-fine hair and continued.

"Becoming a family has completed my life, Harm. Despite everything that I've worked for over the years, I never felt complete. The only time I felt near to it was when I spent time with you and your family and with Bud, Harriet and the babies. I hope life stays just like this."

She and Harm lay thinking for a while then Mac added, "At least for a while."

"So you still want to marry me, then?" Harm asked.

"Of course I do, more than anything," Mac assured him, "I just think we should wait until everything with the adoption is sorted and finalised. I want nothing to take my attention off being a Mother to our child and loving you both."

Harm gave Mac a soft kiss.

"Okay, Sarah. As soon as all of this is taken care of, we'll focus on getting you an engagement ring. The most beautiful one we can find. Just like you, just like our child."

They both snuggled up to their child I between them and drifted off to sleep.

OOOO

They woke up to the sound of movement in the hallway outside, the next morning.

AJ and Sasha were already up and went down to their parents and Uncle in a flash, AJ taking Sasha's hand and carefully guiding her down the stairs. Harm and Mac ran into Trish, Frank, AJ and Meredith, and Harriet's parents, who had woken baby James, in the hallway.

"Good morning, sweetheart!" Trish greeted her Granddaughter, as she took her from Harm, giving her a kiss, "Are you all excited about your presents under the Christmas tree?"

Katya understood the word 'presents,' but was unsure about the rest of them, so Mac explained what Trish had asked her, in Russian.

The little girl smiled, shyly, nodding her head.

"How's Gampa's little jewel, this morning?" Frank asked his Granddaughter, tickling her under the chin.

Katya giggled, then leaned over to him, holding her arms out. He gladly took her into his own arms, kissing her forehead, as the group began to make their way downstairs.

By the time that they got there, Bud and Harriet, both also in their housecoats, had lifted and put away the fold-out bed and Mikey was peering under the tree with little AJ and Sasha, all of them looking to see which presents in the avalanche of gifts were for who.

"Merry Christmas!" Bud greeted them all, "Looks like Santa Claus was generous!"

Katya ran to little AJ and Sasha when her Grandpa put her down on the ground.

"All right, kids," Mikey co-ordinated, "How shall we do this? Why don't each of you grab a present from underneath the tree, one that isn't for you and take it to that person. AJ you help Sasha and Katya pick a present, then show them who to take it to."

Little AJ did so dutifully, picking up a gift and giving it to Katya.

"That's for Uncle Mikey," he told her, pointing to his Uncle, "Give it to him."

Katya looked over to her Mom, to get confirmation as to what she was to do.

"Uncle Mikey," Mac told her, "Bring that present to Uncle Mikey and say, "Merry Christmas' to him."

Katya crossed to Mikey, who bent down to receive his present.

"Mayee kissmas," Katya told him, giggling.

"Thank you," Mikey took the present from her, giving her a hug.

Little AJ had by now picked out another present and given it to Sasha.

That's for Mommy," he told his sister, "Take it to Mommy."

After a little prompt from Mac, Sasha followed her instructions.

Harriet caught her daughter up, giving her a kiss.

"Mayee kissmas, Mommy," the little girl told her, cuddling her Mother back.

Little AJ picked out the next present and took it to his namesake, telling the man, "Merry Christmas Uncle AJ!"

The next few hours passed this way, with everyone taking a turn to give out a present. Thank yous were given across the living room, from recipient to giver.

The first presents that AJ received were opened in a whirlwind of ripping gift-wrap, though his sister and cousin just sat holding their presents on their knee.

"Hey baby-girls…" Mac asked them in Russian, "Do you not want to open your presents? Once you see what is inside, then you can move onto your next ones."

The little girls just hugged their presents to them, silently.

"Why don't you take another of your presents, AJ," Harm prompted the little boy, "take it over to the girls and show them how it's done."

Little AJ did so, taking a seat beside his sister and cousin.

"Come on," he encouraged them, "Do it like me."

He began to rip and pullback the paper from his gift, looking at them, indicating with a nod of his head in their direction that they were to copy him. Sasha did so, but Katya just watched them, in silence. Harm stood up and walked over to Katya, lifting her and her present up into his arms. He brought her over to where Mac was sitting in a chair and placed Katya on her Mother's knee. He perched himself on the chair's arm and watched as Mac explained to Katya in Russian, showing her what she needed to do.

"Pull off the paper, Katya."

"Pretty," Katya told her Mother, pointing to the silvery white snowflakes on the dark blue wrapping paper, "Pretty, Mommy."

Mac realised that this must be the first time that either of the girls had ever seen Christmas paper.

"Okay," she told her daughter, "Shall we take it off carefully? Then you can keep the paper and the present."

The little girl nodded and looked back to her present, wondering what to do first.

"How, Mommy?" she asked, "Show how."

Mac started her off, showing her how to carefully lift the tape, pulling back each fold of paper to reveal a hint of the packaging underneath.

Meanwhile, Sasha and little AJ were now onto their next presents. Jimmy was seated on his Mom's knee and although he looked intrigued by the process, it was Harriet who was doing the unwrapping for him.

By the time that all of the wrapping paper had been lifted away and folded up, Katya eyed the baby-doll looking out at her from inside the box.

"Dolly!" She exclaimed.

"That's right!" Mac told her, "That's from Grandma Trish and Grandpa Frank. What do you say to them?"

Katya smiled to herself for a second, thinking, then scanned the room for her Grandma and Grandpa.

"Thank you!" she told them, in Russian, then again in English, with just a small prompt from Mac.

"You're welcome, Darling," Trish and Frank told them.

OOOO

Sasha and AJ were already well into playing with their new toys on the floor, by the time that Katya set about opening her last present, this time sitting on Harm's knee.

"Daddy!" she admonished, as Harm accidentally tore a bit of the paper.

"Sorry, princess," he told her, grimacing at his little girl's displeasure, "Daddy's not as good at this as Mommy is. Why don't you try it? You might be better than me."

Mac repeated this again in Russian and Katya set to work on the package in front of her.

"Ooo!" she exclaimed, softly, as she tore a bit more of the paper.

"Never mind," Harm told her, "Keep going."

Katya did so and gasped as she pulled back the last piece of the paper, to reveal a pretty pink pony, looking out at her through the front of the box.

"Horsy!" she told Harm excitedly, "Horsy!"

"That's right," Harm encouraged her, "Mommy and Daddy took you to see some of those a few weeks ago, didn't we?"

"She adored the pony show we took her to," Mac explained to Frank and Trish, "We knew that she would love that."

"Your horsy came from Santa Claus," Harm told Katya.

"Thank you, Santa Claus!" Katya shouted loudly, as if Santa would be able to hear, wherever he was, now.

Mac just grinned, watching Harm help Katya take the toy pony out of the box.

Everyone was either seated in the living room, watching television or helping out with Christmas lunch in the kitchen, when the doorbell sounded. Mac simply looked confused after she opened the door, to be confronted by a shrouded figure. She had expected that maybe it was Webb, who had said that he'd be around later on in the day to drop off some presents. However, she didn't have the faintest idea who this heavily wrapped up person was, standing in the now blanketing snow outside the front door.

"I hear that a now have a new niece to meet," Harm's younger brother spoke up and Mac's mouth dropped open in amazement as Sergei began to pull away all of his winter clothes.

"Sergei!" she exclaimed, "We thought you were away on a mission! Come in from the cold! Harm! Your brother's here…"

Harm came bounding up the stairs, to see what the commotion was all about.

"Sergei?" he exclaimed, just as amazed as Mac, pulling his brother into a hug, "We had no idea that you were around…Your CO said…"

"Yes," Sergei confirmed, "I got everything finished early. I thought I'd come and meet your new little girl. That's okay, isn't it?"

"Of course it is!" Harm admonished his brother, "Mac and I have been so excited about you coming to meet Katya…We just didn't expect it to be this soon!"

"Your friend Clayton Webb has been in contact with me, helping out with some information that I needed. He told me all about what you all went through over the past weeks. Are you and the Roberts family all okay?"

"We're all fine, now," Mac assured him, "Now that both of the girls are here with us."

"The past couple of weeks have been so great!" Harm added, grinning, "I never thought becoming a Dad would be so amazing."

Sergei just smiled at the sight of Harm and Mac. He had always known that the two of them were made for each other, despite the fact that they had fought the inevitable with all of their strength. This must be an amazing child, to bring the two of them together as effortlessly as he had heard.

Mac took Sergei's arm as she and Harm showed him the way down the stairs and into the living room.

All of the adults got up off the chairs and couch as came over to greet Sergei, or in some cases introduced themselves to him for the first time. After introductions and greetings had been issued, Sergei peered past them to the small cluster of children sitting in front of the television. The children were watching Russian cartoons on the television, which had been one of little Sasha's Christmas presents. All of them burst into hysterical laughter as they watched a little cartoon duck get squashed by the large pig it shared the farm-yard with, only to come out flattened.

"Alright, you lot," Mac told the children, first in English, then in Russian, "You need to move back from the television screen. You're sitting far too close, you'll ruin your eyes."

All three children were still riveted by the cartoon, but slowly shuffled backwards, an inch. All of the adults laughed and went to forcibly move each child to a safe distance.

Sergei followed Harm as he went to move Katya.

"Katya, princess," Harm told her, "Back a bit more…here…stay there, now…Look who has come to see you, today…"

Katya diverted her attention from the cartoon, first to take in her towering Dad, then to take in the tall figure standing beside him.

"This is Daddy's little brother, your Uncle Sergei," Harm explained.

"Unca Sergei?" Katya repeated, unsurely.

"Yes," Harm nodded, "That's right. Uncle Sergei, this is your niece, Ekaterina."

"Ekaterina," Sergei repeated, continuing in Russian, "My, what a pretty name! A pretty name for a pretty little girl…you know Russian, don't you, sweetheart?"

Katya smiled as she nodded, excited by another person other than her Mother whom she could communicate with, with ease. She reached up her arms to Sergei in contentment and Sergei lifted her up into his arms.

"Oh, I think she likes her Uncle Sergei, Daddy," Mac noted to Harm, approaching to group.

Then Mac turned to Katya, telling her daughter, "Your Uncle Sergei flies helicopters, Katya."

"Like Daddy," Katya spoke up and Mac confirmed, "Yes, like Daddy flies airplanes.They fly in the air…"

She was too young really to make much of a distinction between the two, though she'd certainly grow up knowing the difference, if her Father was Harmon Rabb Junior!

Katya played happily in Sergei's arms for the next hour, pausing to babble away to him in Russian every now and then. Soon, Sasha joined them, attracted by the fact that Sergei spoke Russian.

"Unca Sergei," Katya told her and Sasha climbed up onto his knee happily, alongside Katya.

"Are you girls having a good time with Uncle Sergei?" Harriet asked them, as she came in from the kitchen to see the new arrival, "How are you, Sergei?"

"I'm very well, thank you, Harriet…It is not too much trouble, turning up out of the blue like this?"

"Of course not," Harriet dismissed, " We've got enough here to feed the masses."

"Which we have," Mikey joked, indicating to the people gathered around the living room, "The more the merrier, huh!"

Sergei laughed as he got into the mood of the occasion.

OOOO


	11. Chapter 11

OOOO

Part Eleven

Eventually, everything was ready and set out on the dinner table and Harriet was about to call everyone around to eat. However, she noted that there was still one person missing. As if in answer to her thought, the doorbell rang again, signalling the arrival of the last guest. Bud made his way slowly up the stairs to answer it. As he pulled open the door, he was greeted by the sight of a pair of brown envelopes, which Clayton Webb was holding out in front of him.

"Merry Christmas, Bud," Webb bid him, offering the envelopes to Bud.

Bud just looked at him for a second.

"What…you mean…this is…?"

"Webb?" Harriet spoke up from the entrance to the kitchen, "Is that you? Come and get Christmas lunch, everyone hasn't started eating yet, we were waiting for you…."

"Harriet, Harm, Mac," Webb replied, "Could I see you guys up here for just a minute? I've brought some presents for you."

"Huh?" Harriet asked, as she, Mac and Harm made their way up the stairs, "Presents for the children?"

"No, honey," Bud told her, beaming, "Presents for us. For us and for Harm and Mac…."

The three of them just stared at him, then looked from Bud to Webb and back again.

"The adoption application?" Harm spoke up first, "It went through…?"

"Yes it did," Webb pronounced, with a smile, "Merry Christmas, Mommy and Daddy! You lot are the proud new parents of a little girl each."

Harriet and Mac let out an excited scream and hugged, then went to Webb and pulled him into a hug.

"Oh, thank you Clay!" Mac thanked him, still in shock, "Thank you so much…We can go home, now? We can take the girls back to DC?"

Webb nodded and watched as they all opened up their envelopes. Inside were all of the legal documents, which Webb talked them through.

"Okay, these are the official certificates of adoption. One for 'Sashenka Marrietta Roberts.' And one for 'Ekaterina MacKenzie-Rabb.'

He also reached into his jacket and fished out a couple of passports for Mac and Harriet, this time legal ones on which Katya and Sasha could travel.

After this they went to tell the rest of the family, seated around the dinner table, after which they all tucked into their Christmas lunch with enthusiasm. Mac was content to pick at her meal in bits and pieces as she focussed on getting Katya to eat. The little girl had never had a meal quite like this and she picked up each small piece of food with her fork and tasted it carefully, before chewing it contentedly.

"Is that nice, darling?" Mac asked her as the little girl tucked happily into her turkey.

"Have we got another meat-eater on our hands?" Harm joked from his place next to Mac.

"She knows a good thing, obviously," Mac countered back, jokingly.

Harm turned his attention back to Mac, "Do you want me to keep an eye on her eating while you finish some of your own meal?"

Mac nodded, touched by his thoughtfulness and Harm moved to lean over the back of Katya's chair, encouraging her as she continued with her meal. On the other side of the table, Bud was feeding little Jimmy while keeping an eye on Sasha and little AJ eating their meals. Harriet happily chatted to Mikey as she finished her meal, then swapped over with Bud, so that he could get something more to eat. After Mikey was done, he took all of the children over to the carpet in front of the TV, where he kept an eye on them while their parents had some time to themselves.

"So, when do you guys think you'll be travelling back to DC?" Webb asked his friends, back at the dinner table.

"As soon as everything is wrapped up here, I guess," Harm supposed, "We're going to have to get a lot of this stuff shipped back to DC, but as soon as we can get flights, I guess we'll take the girls home to DC."

Harriet and Bud nodded in agreement.

"I hope we can expect lots of visits, Sergei?" Mac spoke up, to her future brother-in-law, "Have you got any plans over New Year?"

"I'd love to come out and spend some time with you," Sergei confirmed, "I've got some time off due, I'm sure I can manage a few days, at least."

"Good," Harm approved, "Mac and I would love for you to play an important part in Katya's life. It's important to us that Katya is brought up knowing and being proud of her roots."

Harriet and Bud nodded in agreement.

"Harm and I can only tell them so much," Mac explained to Sergei, "I don't know that much about Russian culture and tradition, even though I speak the language."

Sergei nodded in understanding then asked, "So you want both of the girls to grow up speaking English and Russian, too?"

"Absolutely," Bud confirmed, "It's an important part of who they are. Harriet and I will always answer any questions Sasha has, no matter how difficult they are. It's important that the girls understand where they come from and have a sense of pride about their heritage."

"Yes," Sergei agreed, "That is important. It makes me very happy to hear that. A lot of Russia's orphans are not as fortunate as Sasha and Katya. To get wonderful parents like the four of you, who also accept and allow them to be what they really are and where they have come from, that is such a good thing."

"Sergei," Mac approached, "Harm and I have been discussing the idea and agree unanimously. Do you think that you'd like to become Katya's Godfather? We can't think of a better person to guide Katya as she grows up. You can teach her a lot about her heritage and also the world that she's going to be coming into, once we get back to the States."

Sergei just stared for a minute, then smiled, truly touched by the fact that Harm and Mac wanted him to guide the future of their first child.

"I…I would love to…I just can't believe that you want to entrust something so precious to me…" he stuttered.

"And we can't think of anyone better for the job," Harm insisted, "So that's a 'yes'?"

"That's a 'yes' my brother," Sergei confirmed, smiling, "That's definitely a 'yes.' I promise, I won't let either you or Katya down. That is a promise."

They all continued to talk to each other, until Katya made her way back to the group, circling around the table and going to Mac.

"Mamma…" she told Mac tiredly, lifting her arms to be picked up.

Mac lifted her up onto her knee, where Katya cuddled in and tucked her face away against Mac's chest.

"What's the matter, baby?" Mac asked her, "Are you tired?"

The little girl nodded against Mac's chest, snuggling in further, where she promptly fell asleep. Harm leaned over from where he was sitting next to Mac and they both watched their daughter sleeping, contentedly.

"I know that she's probably going to have trouble sleeping tonight if she sleeps now, but I can't help but just sit and watch her," Mac told Harm, quietly, while the others carried on chatting in the background.

"She's just amazing, isn't she?" Harm agreed, "I can't ever think of being without her."

"But, we never will have to," he continued, "Now she's 100 ours and we can take her home, to begin her new life."

Both sat in silence that night, contemplating this amazing news.

OOOO

Later on, Bud and Harriet left the table, to check on how little AJ, Sasha and Baby James were doing, seated in front of the television with Mikey. Mikey was the only one of them watching the TV, as the others were fast asleep on Mikey's lap, even baby James in his carrier, beside Mikey.

"Guess they zonked out," Mikey told Bud and Harriet, laughing, "I always thought that the Russian cartoons were great, but I guess they didn't agree."

"It's been a long day for all of them," Harriet reasoned, "Perhaps we should just get them to bed. Maybe they'll sleep right through."

When all of the children had been put to bed, the adults brought the discussion through to the living room. They passed away the hours chatting comfortably, enjoying the quiet evening to themselves.

OOOO

At 0600 the next morning, Harm was awakened by the sound of musical laughter. The next minute, he felt movement beside him, but kept his eyes shut, thinking that it was probably just Mac turning over. He felt a pudgy hand touch his face softly then heard Katya speak, right next to his face.

"Daddy?" she asked him, inquisitively.

"Hmm," Harm replied, still not wanting to wake up yet.

"Daddy," Katya persisted more emphatically, not giving up.

"What is it, princess?" Harm asked, sleepily.

"Playtime," the little girl told him, authoritatively, in Russian.

When her Daddy didn't make any move to start playing, she lifted her dolly, repeating again, "Playtime, Daddy."

The dolls hair tickled Harm's nose and he pulled back then gave in, sitting up with a groan.

When he did, he caught sight of Mac standing by the door to the bedroom, watching on with laughing eyes, but managing to keep her face straight.

"I see you've been encouraging our daughter to wake her Daddy up," Harm noted, amused, "I suppose she wants me to see her toys?"

"She wants her Daddy to play with her with the toys," Mac corrected him.

"Oh good," Harm commented, "No way to start your day quite like watching a Naval Commander playing with dollies and a toy horse!"

Mac giggled and Katya noticed her Mommy and let out a squeal of delight, exclaiming again, "Playtime, Daddy!"

"Tell Daddy in English," Mac instructed her, "Then Daddy will understand. Just like Mommy told you…"

"Daddy," Katya requested in English, thinking carefully about what Mac had told her, "Come play…"

Harm smiled and clapped his hands.

"Very good, princess! That was perfect," he encouraged.

Katya beamed from ear to ear and passed him her pony, to play with.

Mac joined them on the bed, and she and Harm tried their best to entertain Katya quietly, just in case nobody else in the house was up yet. This proved to be hard, because Katya had a wild, infectious giggle that sent her Mommy and Daddy into stitches of laughter of their own, which only served to excite Katya all the more.

They didn't need to worry about everyone else in the house, though, as little AJ and Sasha had already made their way down to their parents, their Uncle Mikey and Uncle Sergei, who were all sleeping in the living room. Their Grandparents and their Uncle AJ and Aunt Meredith had all been wakened upon hearing the children in the hallway and AJ had made his way out of bed and out to them, to make sure that they got down the stairs, safely.

"AJ," he instructed the little boy, "Make sure that you hold on tight to the banister and keep hold of Sasha's hand. Be careful, take the stairs slow."

"Okay, Uncle AJ," the little boy replied, doing exactly as his namesake had told him.

When AJ went to return to bed, he came upon Harriet's parents making their way into the children's room, so as to check on baby James.

OOOO

There was a knock on Harm and Mac's bedroom door, as Katya let out another uncontrolled squeal.

"Come on in!" Harm told the person on the other side of the door.

When Trish popped her head around the door, Mac apologised, "Sorry Trish…"

Frank leaned around behind her and grinned at the sight of the antics that his Grand daughter was getting up to.

"Sorry, Frank," Mac continued to apologise, "It's just impossible to keep this little bundle of energy quiet!" She leaned in to tickle Katya and made her squeal and giggle even more.

"It's okay, we've been awake for a while," Frank told them, "Trish and I wanted to see what our angel was getting up to."

"We've been having fun," Harm told them, asking Katya, "Haven't we princess?"

The little girl just sat and watched him silently, so he made a big play out of prowling across towards her, before pouncing on her, grabbing her up and turning her upside-down.

Katya let out a piercing half squeal, half giggle that bounced off the walls, making Mac, Trish and Frank put their hands over their ears and making Harm wince.

"Well," Mac concluded, "If everyone wasn't woken up before, they will be now!"

OOOO

They chose the first Sunday of February to fly home to DC.

Before they had left, Harm and Mac had gone out into Moscow and chosen a diamond solitaire ring to make their engagement official.

Everyone else had arrived home before them, Harriet, Bud and the children getting into DC just the night before. Their CO AJ Chegwidden was at the airport early that morning to give them a lift home.

"We really appreciate this, AJ," Harm thanked him, knowing how tired the man had to be, when they had called him out so early in the morning on a Sunday.

AJ just told them, "It's no problem at all. Meredith and I had a wonderful Christmas, this year and the least I could do was to give you a ride home."

Once they arrived home, AJ helped them in with their suitcases then bid them farewell. Mac and Katya passed out on the bed while Harm manoeuvred the suitcases in. After that, he joined the two most important women in his life, on top of the bedspread, falling asleep without another thought.

OOOO

When Harm woke up, some time later, he chuckled softly as he noticed that they were all still wearing their coats and shoes. He quickly divested himself, then Mac and Katya of these items, careful not to wake the sleeping woman and child. After that, he went into the kitchen and started to prepare them all a bit of late breakfast. He set the coffee maker before making his way back into the bedroom, where he stood in front of the bed, watching the woman he loved and his child sleep. They were so peaceful and Harm knew that he'd seldom ever see another sight quite as beautiful as this one. Mac and Katya had both moved in their sleep since Harm had left them. Mac was now lying on her front, with an arm securely around her child. Her beautiful face was turned towards Katya, as if she were breathing in the scent of the little girl's hair on the pillow next to her. Her eyelashes gave a slight flutter and Harm knew she'd probably wake some time soon. Katya was stretched out along the length of the bed, her covers now down around hips. Her arms were stretched out above her head and her deep, contented inhalations made Harm's heart positively melt. Harm knew that she could probably unconsciously sense that her Mommy was nearby. Harm had read somewhere that during the first few days of life, a baby first comes to recognise its Mother primarily by her scent. He knew that Katya had probably not come to recognise any smell during her babyhood, apart from the smell of her biological mother's drugs, but he really felt that Katya was now bonding with he and Mac as a baby would do during her first few months of life. Whenever Katya was asleep in Mac's arms, the little girl would nuzzle up to her Mother's breasts for comfort, although Mac had never filled that sort of primary need, not in terms of breast-feeding, anyway.

Harm was stirred out of his musings as Mac awoke.

"Oh, good, flyboy, you're up," she grinned up at him sleepily, as she breathed in the scent of the coffee brewing in the kitchen, "I feel just like having a nice, strong coffee. See that you don't make it too weak, now!"

Harm just grinned back at her as he went to dutifully go and get her a mug of coffee.

OOOO


	12. Chapter 12

Well, this is the second to last chapter...It's gone so fast! Hope you enjoy the rest of the story! And thanks to all those who choose to leave reviews! Ireally enjoy reading them!

OOOO

Part Twelve

It was a sunny afternoon and Harm, Mac, Bud, Harriet and the children met up at the large park near to the Roberts's house. Little AJ had been allowed to invite along some of his little friends, so that he could introduce them to his new cousin Katya. But the little girl didn't seem to want to play today. Harm and Mac noticed that she seemed to be a little wary of non-Russian speakers who were outside of their immediate circle of family at JAG. They had reasoned that she would probably get more confident as her English improved, but today, she only wanted to stick close to her Mommy.

"What's wrong, baby-girl?" Mac bent down and asked her, "Don't you want to go and play?"

All of the other children were now over at the children's play equipment, playing a game of 'fort.'

Katya nuzzled her face into her Mommy's lap and shook her head. Mac lifted her onto her knee for a while, then tried persuading her gradually further and further away from her and toward the children playing at the play park in front of them. Katya would only go as far as the grass immediately in front of Harm and Mac's feet.

"Sasha," Bud spoke up from his place on the other side of the picnic table.

He didn't need to say any more to his daughter. The little girl looked up from her place in the sandpit, across to her Dad then towards Katya, as if noticing for the first time that her best friend wasn't beside her. She quickly stood and ran over to where Katya was sat on the grass and offered her a hand up. Katya just looked at her unsurely for a second then took it.

Over the ensuing minutes, the little girls played first at the edge of the sandpit, then, progressively further in, a little further from the adults each time. Finally, Sasha moved back to the group of children and motioned for Katya to do the same. Katya slowly edged towards the group, step by tiny step, her thumb comfortingly placed in her mouth. As she hesitated at the last step, little AJ reached out and took her hand, pulling her into a hug as he introduced her to his friends.

"This is my little cousin Katya. She and my sister are best friends. They lived together at the orphanage in Russia. My Aunty Mac and Uncle Harm went all the way there, just to get her. She's really good at gymnastics, just like Sasha."

After this, he turned to lean down to Katya and told her, "This is my friend Kenny."

He pointed to a red-haired little boy with freckles then continued, "And this is Freddy. His full name is Frederico Garcia Lobo, but we call him 'Froggy.'"

Katya just stared at him for a minute then smiled.

"Froggy?" she questioned, not sure that her translation of the English word had been correct.

"Uh-huh," AJ nodded.

She turned to Sasha for conformation.

"Layagushka?" she asked, giggling loudly.

Sasha just nodded and all of the children started laughing hysterically, unable to escape Katya's infectious giggle.

After that, Freddy's cool new nickname, 'Layagushka' stuck even better than his old one, something that would follow him for years to come.

Harm and Mac relaxed as they watched their daughter finally start to make some headway in mixing with other non-Russian speakers. However, they would soon regret that they had let their guard down, as the children moved on to play on some of the sets of bars in the sandpit. They were only meant to be children's versions of the one set up for the adults to do chin-ups and little AJ showed the two little girls how they were meant to be used. However, the girls soon showed him how such equipment was used at their orphanage in Russia. Even though they were not identical to the proper uneven bars apparatus, the similarity proved to be too tempting to the girls. Sasha went first, but lost her grip and fell into the sand on her bottom. AJ and his friends just froze, not knowing what to do, obviously expecting Sasha to start crying and to call for her Mother.

However, she simply got to her feet and dusted herself off, not really accustomed to the hysterics that most children employed when faced with such a stumble. They had never been comforted by any of their coaches or carers, there had been simply too many children for the orphanage staff to show any warmth or love. Katya stepped up next, copying what Sasha had tried to demonstrate.

Harm and Mac were over by the picnic bench with Harriet and Bud and were unloading the food and cutlery that they had brought with them.

Mac was talking to Harriet and Bud.

"I'm so glad that she's finally mixing with other children. Harm and I have been so worried about how shy she's been…"

Suddenly, Harm bolted from the picnic table, half-stumbling over the seat and taking everyone else by surprise. Harm had looked over to the children, where Katya had now employed all of her strength and swung harder from the bar and pulled herself up above it. She now rested on top of it, the bar under her ribcage, about to lean forward and swing over and down again, as she would normally do in her bars routine. Harm quickly rushed to her and lifted her down from her place on top of the bar. The other grown-ups followed him and he and Mac quickly set to admonishing the little girl for her dangerous antics. But half-way through, they both began to lose steam as they saw Katya's teary-eyed expression. They both realised that they had unintentionally startled her and that she did not understand why they were reprimanding her so. She had performed feats like this before, had even been encouraged to perform them, not always with her coach supervising, but sometimes just an older athlete spotting her. What was so wrong about this occasion?

Harm and Mac fumbled for the words to explain to her.

"I'm sorry Mommy, I do it better, this time…" Katya started, not understanding.

"No, sweetie, that's not it…" Harm tried to tell her, unsuccessfully.

"My legs bended, Daddy?"

"No, honey, that's not what we meant…" Mac tried again.

"Point my toes?" Katya asked.

"No, baby. Daddy and I just get frightened when you do things like that and we're not there to watch you. We don't want you to get hurt…We just want you to play safely and only do those tricks when Daddy's there to hold you, to make sure you don't fall."

Katya thought back to when she was nearly a whole year younger, when she was only just three and she had just joined the elite gymnastics program at the orphanage. She had slipped and fallen very heavily on the beam and badly bruised her leg and pelvis. She remembered crying for a whole night in the sanatorium and remembered how miserable she had been. This must be what her Mommy and Daddy meant.

"Okay, Momma," she told her Mother, "Play under bar only? And Daddy come watch?"

Mac gave a smile of satisfaction and nodded her head. Katya ran away back to the bars, where she and Sasha continued to play away, under the bar, with Harm and Bud supervising them closely.

"Whew," Mac exclaimed, when she and Harriet got back to the picnic table, "She's never done anything like that, before!"

"I know what you mean," Harriet agreed, "I think we're going to have to have a little discussion with the girls about playing safe."

OOOO

Harm, Mac, Bud and Harriet thought that they had covered all of their bases by the time that the girls settled into kindergarten, a few months later. When Mac and Harriet went to collect the girls one afternoon, they found quite a situation before them. While the assistants were reading the rest of the children a story over on the carpet, the class teacher, Miss Stone was over by the cushion area. As they got closer, they saw that the woman was trying to calm down Katya and Sasha, who were huddled up on the cushions. Katya had both of her arms around Sasha, who was sucking her thumb and crying. Katya wore a stern expression on her face.

"Everything's alright, sweethearts," Jenny Stone told them soothingly, "You just gave me a little bit of a fright…"

She jumped up when she saw Mac and Harriet approaching.

"Is everything alright?" Mac and Harriet asked, bending down to see the children.

They both wriggled out of their Mother's grasps, resisting any attempts to comfort them.

"I'm sorry, Mrs. Roberts, Ms. MacKenzie, this is all my fault, I'm afraid…I'm afraid that we've all had a bit of a fright today…It was not my intention and I promise you, I never, ever shouted at the children…"

"Oh, I'm sure you didn't," Mac assured the young woman. Mac had yet to meet a more softly spoken person and she and Harm had nicknamed their daughter's teacher 'Miss Honey' after the character in Roald Dahl's 'Matilda'. The last thing she would ever expect would be for the woman to raise her voice, even moderately.

"I'm afraid that I've unintentionally upset the girls, despite trying to remain calm with them…I just don't understand it at all…"

"What exactly was it that started this off?" Harriet asked the woman, thinking objectively.

"Well, in class, after lunch, we were all playing an exercise called, "What I do best." It's meant to be a confidence boosting exercise, where the children show each other, one at a time, what things they can do well. Some children want to draw pictures, dance to music, play a musical instrument, blow bubbles…well, anyhow, Sasha wanted to take a turn and I said that she could and, well she climbed onto the table…"

"You said anything!" Katya quickly cut in, loudly, "Mommy, Miss Stone said 'anything.' 'We can do anything we want to.' "

"Yes," Miss Stone answered her soothingly, "Yes, that's exactly what I said, you're right, sweetheart."

Once Katya had quietened down again, Miss Stone continued her story.

"Perhaps I should have set more parameters to the exercise…but we just never expect anything like this…"

"What exactly was it that Sasha did, Miss Stone?" Mac asked the woman, feeling as if she might be able to guess what had so flustered the young teacher.

"Well, like I said," the woman continued, "Sasha climbed up onto the table and, umm…well, _she stood on her head_."

"Is that it, Sasha?" Harriet turned to her daughter, trying to remain serious, "You showed Miss Stone your head stand?"

The little girl nodded, still with her thumb comfortingly in her mouth.

"Well," Jenny Stone continued, "That took me quite by surprise, as you can well imagine, but then, well, Sasha really took the cake when she lifted her hands _off_ the table and held them out in the air…"

Here, Mac and Harriet could restrain themselves no longer and broke into laughter. Both of their daughters had demonstrated their 'real headstands' when at home, with Harm and Bud carefully spotting them.

Jenny Stone just looked at them, not knowing what to think.

"I'm sorry, Miss Stone," Mac was the first to apologised to her and explain their behaviour, "I'm afraid that you've gotten off quite lightly, today. Both of our girls have done much worse at home. We certainly don't excuse it and both my fiancé and I and Mr and Mrs Roberts have tried to explain how dangerous this sort of thing is to our girls. As you know, both Katya and Sasha grew up in an orphanage in Russia. Since they were three years old, they were put into hothouse training in a gymnasium and were encouraged to do exercises that were extremely advanced and, a lot of the time, dangerous. They just came to know it as a way of life. They don't really know what fear and danger is, when it comes to their gymnastics. I thought we had managed to get the message through to them, but obviously we need to have some more talks with them. I'm sorry that the children took you by surprise today."

At this, Mac turned and bent down to her daughter, "This is just a misunderstanding, sweetie. Mommy and Daddy and Aunty Harriet and Uncle Bud didn't explain it to you properly. We'll talk to Daddy tonight and make sure that we're more careful in future, won't we?"

Katya just nodded her head and looked at her Mother unsurely.

"We're going home now, Mommy?" she asked.

"That's right, baby," Mac told her, "We'll go home and wait for Daddy to come home from work."

"I can still go, too?"

Mac just stared in puzzlement, "Of course, baby…Why wouldn't you?"

"You and Daddy still want me?"

Mac just looked at her daughter, feeling her heart clench in her chest.

"What do you mean? Daddy and I will always want you, baby. Always."

"You won't send Sasha and me away?"

"Is that why you were so upset?" Mac asked her daughter and niece and Harriet looked on in perturbed silence.

"Uh-huh," Katya replied, "Sasha said that Aunt Harriet wouldn't want her anymore, if she had been bad and I thought you wouldn't want me, too."

Mac just scooped her daughter into a hug and exclaimed,

"Oh sweetie! Daddy and I will always want you. We came all that way to find you and we knew you were our perfect baby-girl as soon as we saw you. We would never send you away, never. No matter how naughty you had been. We love you and we always will, I promise. Momma and Daddy love you so much."

Beside them, Harriet was expressing similar feelings to her daughter, enfolding the child tightly in her arms.

Once all of that had been settled, they both took the girls home and left the frazzled Miss Stone to tend to the rest of her class.

OOOO


	13. Chapter 13

AN: Well, looks like we've come to the end of the line...Please make sure you lift all your belongings before disembarking...Hope you enjoyed the ride! It's been a blast to post, as always! Thanks for all of your great reviews!

Oh yeah, in my world, Gunny Victor Galindez never left JAG, but remained for all of us to ogle each week!

OOOO

Part Thirteen

Harm headed out of his office and walked over to where Katya was playing in the bullpen. It was a Saturday and Harm was one of very few people there over the weekend, catching up on work. Mac was at the supermarket, shopping for groceries for a little garden party that they were going to have over at the Roberts's, that night. Harm had offered to take Katya with him, so that Mac wouldn't have to watch her on top of all of the errands that she had to run.

"Sweetie, I need to go downstairs for a minute to get something, okay? Don't leave the bullpen, alright?" Harm told his daughter, who was sitting under a desk, playing with her ponies.

Katya looked up with a confused expression on her face.

"Daddy?" she asked, "What is the b…bull…bullp…"

She thought she knew the word he used. It was the English word for an animal with horns and a mean temper. Looking around, she couldn't see anything that could be said to resemble such a creature.

"Oh…" Harm realised that she didn't understand him, "Daddy means, don't go past Uncle Vic's desk, okay? He and Uncle Sturgis are here, if you need anything, but Daddy shouldn't be very long, okay?"

"Okay Daddy," Katya settled back to her game, happily.

Before he left, Harm checked with Gunny that it was okay for him to leave Katya there, while he went to the basement to search out some records that he needed.

"That's fine, Sir," Gunny said, "I'll keep my eye on her, Sir."

OOO

Approximately half-an-hour later, Katya became aware of a disturbing tightness in her lower belly and quickly climbed out from under the desk. She had been having such a good time, playing with her ponies, she hadn't realised how full her bladder was getting. She quickly scampered over to Uncle Vic's desk.

Gunny saw her coming and asked, "Hi, Katya! Are you alright?"

When he noticed the urgent expression on her face, he asked, concerned,

"Are you okay, honey?"

"Uncle Vic," Katya reported, urgently, "I need…I need…"

However, the English word escaped her and she opened and closed her mouth repeatedly, only able to garble helplessly.

"What is it you need?" Gunny asked her, softly and patiently.

"I need…_toilet_, Uncle Vic, I need to go _potty_…"

However, Katya could only remember the Russian words.

"I'm sorry, hon," Gunny told her helplessly, "I don't know what that means…"

However, as Katya brought her knees together and jammed her hands between her legs, letting out a soft moan, Gunny realised exactly what she must mean.

"Uh-oh," the marine gunnery sergeant thought to himself, "What do I do now?"

"You need to go to the little girl's room, sweetie?" he asked, hoping his hunch was wrong.

No such luck.

"Uh-huh, Uncle Vic. Need to go now!" Katya told him.

Gunny quickly thought and assessed that he'd have to bring Katya to the toilet himself. There were only two other people were in today, one of them Katya's Dad, who was all the way downstairs. There were no female officers in the bullpen today and Commander Sturgis Turner was just as clueless about little girls as he was. There was nothing for it, he'd have to take her into the bathroom himself. There was no telling how long Commander Rabb would be. Damn him!

An impatient 'Uncle Vic!' snapped him out of his thoughts and he quickly guided Katya out towards the lady's room, before she christened the Admiral's new bullpen carpet.

Outside the lady's room, Gunny gave two quick sets of knocks on the door, before cracking it open and asking, loudly, "Excuse me? Is there anyone in here?"

When he got no answer, he pulled the door open all of the way and guided Katya in.

"Can you manage on your own, sweetie?" he asked the little girl, hoping that she could.

He had grown up in a house full of sisters, but now they all had sons and Gunny had no proper experience at all with little girls.

"Uh-huh," Katya told him and toddled into the cubicle, by herself.

Katya had become toilet trained very quickly and at a very early age because very little patience was afforded for accidents in the orphanage.

"Okay, now don't lock the door, Hon," Gunny instructed her, "Uncle Vic will hold it closed with his foot, then just tug on it when you're done and I'll let it go."

"Okay Uncle Vic," Katya shouted, sounding just as carefree as when she was playing with her ponies.

Gunny sweated it out for the next minute as he waited for Katya to finish, praying that nobody would walk in to find him here. He was not so lucky, as the lady's room door swung open and a pretty, blond petty officer walked in and stopped dead as she saw him.

"Oh…I'm sorry Sir," she stammered in apology, "I…the bathrooms upstairs are out of order, you see…I didn't mean to…interrupt…"

"That's alright, Petty Officer…" Gunny told her, similarly stuck for words, "I just…well, she couldn't wait any, you see…I mean, I had to bring her in…I didn't want to take her into the men's…."

The Petty Officer just looked at him funny as he tried and failed to explain. Just then, he was saved more embarrassment, when Katya tugged on the door.

"Uncle Vic!" she cried, joyously, "I'm all done!"

"Oh thank goodness!" Gunny thought to himself, with equal joy.

Gunny let go of the door and Katya stepped out, holding up her purple overalls by the loose straps.

"Uncle Vic," she told him seriously, "I couldn't do these up again…"

To demonstrate her point, she let the straps go and her overalls fell down around her feet, giving Gunny and the Petty Officer a glimpse of her new 'Saturday' underpants.

Gunny blushed and quickly hoisted the overalls back up, securing the buckles and lifted Katya over to the sinks.

"Time to wash your handies," he told her and she started singing, "_Wash handies, wash handies! Wash handies time!"_

After she rinsed her hands, Gunny lifted Katya over to the towel rack, where she dried her hands.

The petty officer only just managed to contain her amusement during all of this, but found herself smiling at the heart-warming sight of the little girl grabbing her 'Uncle Vic's' hand as they exited the bathroom.

OOOO

Later on, as Harm made his way back into the bullpen, he stopped by the Gunny's desk.

"Sorry I was so long, Gunny," he apologised to the man, "Time just got away from me while I was down in records. I hope Katya wasn't any trouble for you?"

"No, of course not, Sir," Gunny told him, "But we did have a bit of a bind, a little while ago…Katya needed the bathroom and I had to take her to the ladies…but she managed okay on her own…"

"Oh, I'm sorry!" Harm exclaimed, "I forgot to check with her before I left! I'm really sorry, was she alright by herself?"

"Yeah, she managed fine," Gunny told him, keeping the conversation simple, as he felt himself start to fluster.

"Okay, thanks Gunny," Harm thanked the man and turned to find his daughter and leave Gunny in peace.

"Katya?" Harm asked, loudly, "Where are you, princess?"

"Here I am, Daddy!" she shouted, climbing to her feet from underneath a desk then exclaimed excitedly, loud enough for the whole bullpen to hear, "Guess what Daddy?"

"What, princess?" Harm asked, indulgently as he took a seat and pulled Katya up onto his lap.

"Daddy, Daddy, Daddy!" Katya exclaimed, bouncing up and down excitedly, "Uncle Vic took me to go pee-pee!"

Harm and Gunny broke out into loud laughter, unable to hold it back. Even Commander Turner made his way out of his office, in a similar state of hysterics.

OOOO

"She did what?" Mac exclaimed, laughing, later on, while she and Harm were packing the food for the garden party at the Roberts's.

"You heard me!" Harm told her, "She told me and the whole bullpen that Uncle Vic took her to go pee-pee!"

Mac just continued to laugh at the thought of the poor gunnery sergeant.

"And that's not all," Harm continued, "Gunny took her into the lady's room. He checked to make sure that nobody was in there first, but somebody walked in while he was holding the cubicle door closed for Katya. Gunny says he must have spent two whole minutes trying to explain to this Petty Officer from upstairs why he was in there. She just looked at him like he was crazy or something."

"My goodness!" Mac exclaimed, quietly, still laughing, amusedly, "The poor guy! At least it wasn't a superior officer! Didn't you check whether Katya needed to go to the bathroom before you went down to records?"

"It completely slipped my mind," Harm told her, holding his hands up in a helpless gesture, "But it didn't end there for the Gunny…"

Mac was silent again, but still fought to contain her laughter as Harm continued.

"When Katya came out of the toilet, she was holding up her overalls up because she couldn't do the buckles up again. She told Gunny, then dropped her overalls to show him what she meant! Gunny and the Petty Officer got a good view of those 'day of the week' underpants that you bought her!

Mac gasped in disbelief and really cracked up as Harm added…

"Then she started singing as she was washing her hands and grabbed Gunny's hand as they walked out of the bathroom. Gunny's never going to be able to look that petty officer straight in the eye again!"

OOOO

The whole funny incident was relayed to the Roberts family as the group sat out in the garden, later that night. Bud and Harriet found it even more amusing than Harm and Mac had, earlier.

Harm was in the garden with the children, playing a game of 'hide and seek.' He was up to his knees in the Robert's hedges, sifting through them for any sign of any of the children. Mac could see her daughter, the source of tonight's amusement, peeping out from behind little AJ's den, watching her Father with delight. Just then, there was a loud, animalistic howl and Harm jumped in shock, falling against the garden fence in an attempt to get away from whatever had made the noise. A large tom-cat scarpered from the bushes and crouched low on the grass, where it set about studying everyone around it, pensively.

"Ooo!" Katya exclaimed, staring at the animal with wonder, "_Kisa_!"

"Princess!" Harm shouted from his place sprawled in the bushes, "Don't touch the kitty, you don't know where it's been…"

Katya approached the cat and bent down to look it in the eye.

"Hello, kitty!" she greeted it, grinning.

The cat, obviously a stray, looked up at her and let out a loud 'meow.'

Katya laughed delightedly, jumping up and down and exclaimed, "Daddy! The kitty said hello to me!"

"You okay, squid?" Mac asked her fiancé as she helped him climb out of the bushes and brush himself off.

"I don't like the look of that cat," Harm eyed the cat, doubtfully.

"But she's already so attached to it," Mac told him.

"Can we keep him, Daddy?" Katya asked him, her big baby-blues pleading with her Daddy's soft side.

"Uh…" Harm stammered, looking at the cat again.

The tomcat had no collar, was missing half an ear and stared up at him with a similarly questioning gaze. There was no doubt that this cat was a bruiser of a tomcat. He probably terrorised the rest of the tomcats in the neighbourhood and got all of the female cats into trouble. The neighbourhood was probably teeming with his progeny.

"Well…" Harm continued, "If you take that thing to the vet, first thing in the morning…"

"Yay!" Katya and the other children exclaimed, from all around the cat, "Yay!"

Mac just smiled, she'd known her flyboy would cave to his princess's wishes.

"I mean it, Mac," Harm told her, "I want that cat checked over, first thing in the morning, it could have rabies or anything…and I don't want our neighbours coming to us with any boxes of kittens, either…That cat gets done, at the first opportunity."

The cat looked up at Harm and eyed him as if it knew what he had just said.

"So what's your kitty called, baby?" Mac asked her daughter as she went to stroke the cat.

"Mr. Thomas, Mommy," Katya reported, happily.

"Well," Harm noted as he crossed back to Bud and Harriet, "It least the battle of the sexes will be a bit evened out, in our house, now."

"I suggest you take steps to tip the balance in yours and Mr. Thomas' favour, Commander," Bud joked.

"Maybe I should, Bud," Harm agreed, "Perhaps some time in the near future…"

So that night, a happy family went home, complete with new member, 'Mr Thomas.'

FIN


End file.
